A Rose By Any Other Name
by Drow79
Summary: What would you do if you were forced to live another person's life? What if you knew how their actions would play out in the future? Would you change it to suite your tastes or just let the chips fall where they may? You see we all make choices but in the end it's our choices that make us. (Takeover fiction). Cover art by Toonlancer on Deviant Art. (Hiatus).
1. Those aren't mine!

**I don't own RWBY it belongs to Monty and the Roosterteeth crew.**

**So I was bored and this idea wouldn't leave me alone so decided to write it down to get it out of my head. Don't really know how to describe it except as a OC insert mixed with an OOC Ruby. Anyway just wanted to get the idea out there see what people thought please forgive bad writing was first fic I've done...so yeah enjoy.**

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><p>Do you ever get that feeling that something bad is about to happen, the feeling when every instinct screams that this is a stupid and dangerous idea? A better question, do you ever listen to it? Trust me when I tell you that those instincts exist for a reason and they are rarely, if ever, wrong. In hindsight it really was a stupid idea. I had just spent the whole day at a friend's house watching anime due to start of the school holidays and didn't notice that it was almost night. I lived relatively close by and I didn't want to bother my friend and his parents, so despite the bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach, I decided to walk home… as you can guess it didn't go well.<p>

"I'll see you later mate" Red called as she began the long walk back to her home.

"Be careful on your way home Little Red," he teased, smirking.

She frowned, that nickname had stuck ever since Halloween and he refused to call her anything else. Turning down the street she looked down at her watch, she wouldn't get home until at least 8 at this rate_._ Red looked up at the storm brewing in the distance with a growing sense of unease.

"Aw screw it, time for a short cut," she muttered.

Walking off the main road she began scaling buildings, leaping from roof top to roof top as her parkour training kicked in. She was about half way home when Red felt the first drop on her face, cursing she began to pick up speed not wanting to be caught in the downpour for too long. As Red leapt over to another roof top her foot slipped on the wet tiles, eyes widening and screaming, she fell until Red heard a loud crack and everything went black.

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><p>Red snapped awake. Looking around she noticed that she was in a bed that wasn't her's and there were curtains surrounding her bed.<p>

"Must be in the hospital. Thank god I wasn't killed. Note to self: next time you get a bad feeling about something, listen to it." she muttered to herself, in an oddly high pitch voice as she threw the sheets off.

"What the hell!" she cried, her voice full of shock.

Her clothes were different. Granted, this was a hospital and this would be expected but wouldn't a hospital give her a white gown or robe to wear? Why was she wearing a red and black skirt and corset combo with a red hooded cloak on her back? Her brow furrowed. Did the hospital staff decide to play a prank or something? No, it doesn't sound like something a doctor would do. Also, why does it look familiar?

Deciding to put the question aside for now, Red turned to the window and her jaw dropped open. The moon was broken, part of it shattered almost as if someone had taken a bite out of it. Again a feeling of familiarity came over her. She had definitely seen this before but where?

Looking out the window she noticed something in the reflection; a young girl with silver eyes was sitting literally right behind her. "Hi my name's-huh where'd you go?"

Looking around, there was no sign of the girl. The door was even still closed. "Okay seriously what… the… hell?" her voice trailed off as a she saw her reflection in a mirror, only it wasn't hers.

It was the girls. "No way…" Red exclaimed, only now noticing her voice wasn't her's.

The girl was probably around 15, clad in red and black with silver eyes. Red's now silver eyes widened and her face grew pale as her brain finally put two and two together. The moon, her reflection, that could only mean one thing but that was impossible. Wasn't it?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and a well-endowed blond walked in. "Ruby! Thank God you're ok we were all really worried" she exclaimed while rushing over and crushing Red in a painful bear hug.

Red looked at her with confusion and disbelief, "Ruby?"

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><p>This couldn't be happening. Why would she be trapped, not only in the world of RWBY, but as the main character herself? It had to be a dream, right? Wincing from the painful hug she was still encased in threw that option out the window.<p>

Her inner panic must have shown on her face as Yang looked at her sister, clearly worried. "Ruby, you okay?"

'Crap okay think what do I say? I'm not actually Ruby and you're all a fictional universe that is watched for entertainment? Yeah that'll go over well. My acting skills aren't good enough to fool everyone into thinking I'm actually Ruby! That's it!'

Red struggled out of Yang's embrace and looked at her with very real confusion, "Ruby? You talk to gems? Anyway, who are you and, more importantly, who am I?"

Red felt her heart winch as Yang's expression turned from one of joy to horror, 'well at least I know it's working'.

"Ruby if this is a joke it is not funny," Yang chocked out.

"Listen Blondie I have no idea who the hell this Ruby is or you for that matter," Red shouted.

Yang reared as if slapped before grabbing Red's arm and sprinted down the hallways, knocking any unfortunate student out of the way before stopping in front of a door. "Headmaster, we've got a serious problem here. It's an emergency".

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><p>The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Red sat in the middle of the room facing Ozpin at his desk. After Yang told the headmaster the situation he immediately called the rest of team RWBY and JNPR. "So," he began, "you don't remember anything at all Miss Rose?"<p>

"Not a damn thing," she lied.

"I see. Very well, go with Miss Xiao Long to the RWBY dorms maybe being around your friends will jog your memory." he dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

A sigh escaped Red as she felt everyone's eyes on her the entire way to the dorms. Yang showed her to Ruby's bed, the floating death trap know as Fort Ruby. 'It's going to be a long night'.


	2. Red Reaper

**I don't own RWBY if I did we would have seen Ozpin vs Roman.**

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><p><em>Ruby stood motionless on the cliff the only movement coming from her cloak gently flowing with the wind. It was that time of the year again and it never got any easier. As if hearing her thoughts the sky began weeping frozen tears, adding to the seemingly serine winter wonderland. Looking down on the well maintained grave Ruby noted that it looked just as fresh as the day it was made, the words 'Summer Rose, Thus I Kindly Scatter' burning themselves into her mind. Unable to look any longer she turned and began the long walk back home, smiling as she noted movement out of the corner of her eye, at least she'd have some fun today. Walking though the forest she noted the black shapes were multiplying the further she went in. Arriving in a clearing Ruby found herself surrounded by a pack of Beowolves. Snarling three of them charged her attempting to overwhelm her with their surprise and speed, only to bite into rose petals. High above them Ruby unsheathed Crescent Rose in the gun form before shooting one in the head, killing it instantly. Diving into the other two Ruby began shooting them at point blank, ripping huge chunks off their bodies before switching to the scythe form and turning to face the rest of the pack. Enraged by the death of their comrades the Beowolves howled before the entire pack charged, only to meet their deaths at the hands of the Red Reaper.<em>

Red awoke in a cold sweat, feeling as though she just ate a couple of pounds of coffee. Walking into the bathroom, careful not to wake any of the others she rinsed her face, staring at the foreign reflection in the mirror.

"So tell me who's really the loneliest of them all?" giving a dark chuckle Red left the dorm, subconsciously grabbing Crescent Rose.

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><p>After getting bored of walking down the halls of Beacon Red found herself on the roof staring up at the sky. High places always made her feel better when she was worried about something, it was the real reason she took up parkour. Thinking back on what happened last night it became clear that it was too real to be a dream which left only one option, 'it was a memory but why and how did I see it?'<p>

"Ruby! There you are! Get down here Yang's been worried sick," shouted a very worried Jaune.

Red jumped unfortunately activating Ruby's semblance in the process, causing her to crash into the poor blonde. "Augh that was not fun, sorry mate," said Red, apologizing as she got off him.

"So kay I've dealt with worse, come on its breakfast time and we've got to hurry if we want any pancakes, Nora will make sure of that," he jokingly replied.

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><p>To say that it was an interesting breakfast would be an understatement, Yang instantly berated her for going off on her own after which both team RWBY and JNPR wouldn't let her out of their sight. Suddenly a heavenly smell filled her nose, letting it lead her to the source she found a plate of freshly baked cookies. Eyes widening and licking her lips Red grabbed the entire bowl before beginning the cookie massacre, not even a crumb was spared.<p>

"I don't believe it, even with amnesia she still acts like a kid," complained Weiss.

Red frowned, Weiss was right she never acted like this especially not for something as simple as cookies, even if they were cooked to perfection with just the right amount of choc chip. Drool began trickling down Red's face before she shook the thoughts out of her head. After her meal the teams began to 'reintroduce' themselves, everything was going fine until it was Jaune's turn.

"Hi I'm team JNPR's leader, the names Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue," he boasted.

"Ladies love it," she finished, smirking.

That got everyone a good laugh before realizing what she'd said, "Ruby do you remember anything?" questioned Blake.

Red cursed realizing her mistake, "umm…well you see it just…came to me," she replied, grinning as she rubbed the back of her head.

Blake clearly wasn't convinced but before she could question her further their attention was drawn by the sound of a girl crying in pain. Looking over showed Cardin picking on the Bunny Faunus Velvet, 'hmm if the timeline follows the episodes then that means I'm roughly at episode 11.'

Grateful to have the attention diverted off her Red sat down and began listening to the teams talking to Jaune about Cardin's bullying. Unable to stop herself from laughing at the mention of being launched from a rocket locker, which earned her a glare from Pyrrah.

"Sorry, but if this Cardin is such a problem then why don't we just break his legs?" she asked, putting on her best innocent girl act.

"SEE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS WE SHOULD!" bellowed Nora.

"It's not that simple Ruby, if we attack him we could get in serious trouble," explained Pyrrah.

A smile grew on Red's face, "so if it was self-defense it would be fine right? Thanks Pyrrah that's all I need to know, hey Nora you might want to film this," getting up Red walked over to team CRDL.

"Hey Cardin! Why do you keep doing this just accept it, you'll never be the man your mother is," Red smirked as Cardin's face turned as red as her cloak.

"WHAT WAS THAT SHRIMP!" roared Cardin as he turned to face her.

"Oh nothing just wondering what highway you were born on since that's where most accidents happen," Red continued with a wave of her hand.

Cardin growled before unsheathing his mace "You want to go me bitch," his voice deadly calm.

Red smiled, 'just one more should do it.'

"Now now Cardin put that down you should know two wrongs don't make a right, I mean look at your parents."

You could hear a pin drop in the normally loud and energetic cafeteria, a crowd of people had begun to gather, watching to see who would make the first move. Suddenly Cardin roared and slammed his mace down in an overhead strike. Red's body began moving by itself, dodging to the side and leaving a trail of petals in her wake. Unsheathing Crescent Rose from her back Red launched herself towards him, slamming the blunt end of the scythe into Cardin's stomach. The bully flew through the air before hitting and overturning a table. Seeing her chance Red leapt over the table her scythe becoming nothing but a red whirlwind of slashing and smashing. Cardin tried to defend himself as best he could but was no match for Red's speed and inevitably the fight ended with Red smashing him with Crescent Rose, embedding him into a wall.

As the adrenaline finally left her system she sheathed Crescent Rose and walked back to the table. Red frowned in confusion, 'how the hell did I do that? It felt like I'd done it my whole life,' any other thoughts were interrupted by the commotion caused by team RWBY and JNPR.

"THAT WAS AWESOME YOU NEED TO TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT!" begged Nora.

"And don't worry I filmed all of it," she whispered to Red.

"Well Miss Rose if you are done attacking our students I believe the headmaster would like a word," stated a very annoyed voice.

Red's face paled as she turned to see an angry Glynda Goodwitch staring down at her. 'Crap'.

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><p><strong>Hey guys so this story got more support then I expected it to so I decided to continue it. Also please tell me what you think of fight scene I'm thinking of doing more in the future and would like advice on them. Anyway don't expect an update for a while I need to take some time to figure out where to take the story. As usual please forgive bad grammar, thanks.<strong>


	3. Heroes

**Ok sorry for the wait but I have a rough idea for how this story is going to pan out. It will stick with the cannon for a little while depending on season 2 of RWBY. As always please forgive bad gramma. Also thanks to Jacklyn Frost for the review it was helpful.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did Jaune would be more badass.**

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><p>One thing must be said about Ozpin's office, it had a great view. Red looked down on Beacon while Goodwitch informed Ozpin of the cafeteria beat down. Her customary smirk growing on her face as she listened.<p>

"Thank you Glynda that will be all," dismissed Ozpin.

"Of course Headmaster," replied Goodwitch as she left.

Red watched her go surprised. She expected Glynda to demand a form of punishment for her after the incident not leave without a fuss. Turning she noticed Ozpin gesturing her to take a seat with his trademark mug.

"Well Miss Rose it seems that despite your lack of memory you were able to successfully fight and defeat a fellow hunter, and a team leader at that." He frowned, putting down the mug and looking Red in the eye. "Care to explain hmm?"

Red's heart began to rival Ruby's semblance, her smirk instantly vanished. 'Does he suspect something?' she thought panicky. Realizing that the silence only made her more suspicious she forced her heart back to a normalish pace and took a deep breath.

"Honestly Headmaster I don't know how I did that, my body just began moving on its own. I didn't even realize what I was doing until Cardin was face first in a wall," Red looked at Crescent Rose on the desk, "even though I've never used it before it felt natural in my hands."

Ozpin nodded as he listened, his eyes never leaving her's, as if searching for a sign of a lie before handing Crescent Rose to her. An awkward silence passed as he began looking at Red with calculating expression that made her instantly want to be somewhere else.

"Interesting it seems that even with the memories gone your body and instincts still remember their training," he mused.

Picking up his coffee Ozpin stood and turned to look out at Beacon below. "Miss Rose I am clearing you to continue your duties as a huntress, make sure you come to all classes, your condition will not be an acceptable excuse."

'What?' blinking she just sat there trying to make sense of what he said, before jumping out of her chair, arms flailing.

"Headmaster wait, I can understand going to classes to help my amnesia but how on Earth am I supposed to fight in combat class let alone against Grimm?" her voice raising several octaves.

Not even bothering to turn and look at her, he simply took another sip of his coffee. "This incident taught us that you're still as skilled a fighter as you were before the accident and that's all the proof I need."

Red was about to protest further but was stopped by Ozpin's raised hand, the atmosphere of the room making her hair stand on ends. "Unless of course you'd like to face the consequences of a non-student attacking one of Beacons hunters in training?" he continued, his voice a soft whisper yet clear as a bell.

Every instinct screamed at Red to leave the room immediately as her hand began slowly reaching for Crescent Rose. Instead she just nodded her head and got up to leave but was stopped by Ozpin's voice at the door.

"By the way Miss Rose that was an interesting phrase you just used, I wonder what is this 'Earth' you mentioned hmm?"

Red froze before quickly leaving the room, as she left Ozpin opened one of his desk draws and grabbed a blue and green sphere. As he placed it on the desk he smiled, looking over the orb.

"Looks like things are turning out to be a very interesting year."

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><p>Red ran down the halls of beacon, leaving a trail of petals in her wake in her attempt to get as much distance between her and Ozpin as possible. Finally calming herself down Red went up to the roof only to find it occupied by Pyrrha and Jaune. 'This must be when Pyrrha offers to train him but isn't it a bit early for that? Maybe I'm mistaken it has been awhile since I watched it. Wait a minute that means Cardin's listening down below, crap.'<p>

Opening the door she walked up to them waving, "hey Jaune, Pyrrha what's up? You two on a secret date or something?" her trademark smirk returning.

Both their faces immediately turned crimson as they stuttered a reply.

Red continued, "You know this spot is great for the view and all but not so good for keeping secrets, you never really know if people are eavesdropping on you, right Cardin?"

All three heard a grumble as a window slammed shut below them. Both of them turned to Red relief and gratitude in their eyes. Jaune especially as he realized just how close he'd come to revealing his secret, to Cardin of all people.

Smiling Red turned to him, "Jaune, what do you think a hero is?"

He seemed taken aback by the question before answering, "someone strong, who cares for others and protects them, someone great in every way."

Pyrrha looked at Red, nodding in understanding before turning back to Jaune, "tell me Jaune do you think heroes are born strong, no they had people help them become strong and they had the drive to get stronger, to protect what they care about."

Pyrrha grabbed Jaune's shoulder, "great men aren't born Jaune, they are made."

Jaune looked down at his feet, "I don't belong here I'm a coward who lied and cheated to get here, I don't deserve to be here. Even Ruby stood up to Cardin despite having amnesia, whereas I watched from the sidelines."

"Nope," Red replied cheerfully popping the _p_. "Jaune courage isn't the absence of fear or despair but rather the strength to conquer them."

"Besides," she continued, giving his arm a friendly punch. "I don't know of many cowards who would willingly sneak into a school designed to fight monsters and full of warriors who could beat the crap out of them."

Jaune looked up at her before smiling, "yeah not my brightest idea huh?"

"Thanks guys I really appreciate it and Pyrrha I'm sorry for how I acted before would you please train me?"

Pyrrha's expression brightened before pushing him over, "your stance is all wrong."

Red giggled before turning around and walking back to her dorm, "I'll see you guys in class tomorrow."

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><p><strong>Well there you go chapter 3 hope you liked it.<strong>


	4. Classes

**I don't own RWBY if I did Roman would get more lines.**

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><p>Red arrived at her dorm only to hear noises coming from within. Pushing herself up against the door she heard the voices of the rest of team RWBY arguing about something.<p>

"She's hiding something from us," stated Blake.

Red cursed softly. She was hoping Blake had forgotten what happened earlier due to the Cardin incident.

"Well she did just lose all her memory of us so I'm not surprised she doesn't trust us yet," countered Weiss.

"That's just it Weiss, I don't think she lost her memory or at least not completely," replied Blake.

"What! That's ridiculous why would Ruby pretend to have amnesia?" exclaimed Weiss.

"I don't know but you saw her reaction in the cafeteria, she didn't seem surprised at all by our names and then there's her reaction with Jaune," returned Blake.

'Damn it, Blake's far more observant then I gave her credit for,' Red thought frowning.

"It could be coincidence," Weiss weakly replied.

"No Weiss she's right, remember how Blake called her out asking if she remembered anything," sighed Yang, drawing shocked looks from everyone including Red.

"Ruby reacted the exact same way she does when she's hiding something important," continued Yang.

Red frowned, she didn't think she'd done anything to give herself away. Besides why would she act like Ruby does to lie? It didn't make sense, if anything she'd act like herself not Ruby.

"Well if you think so Yang I'll believe it, after all she is your sister," replied a shocked Weiss.

"Is she?" questioned a depressed Yang, "honestly sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a stranger wearing my sister's skin."

Red just stood there staring at the door handle. Part of her wanted to open the door and come clean while another wanted to run as far away as possible. Shaking her head as she realized how stupid she must look just standing outside her dorm, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Only to find all of team RWBY asleep in their beds, sighing with relief she climbed up onto Fort Ruby, trying to ignore the growing sense of guilt.

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><p>"<em>YANG, YANG!" Ruby's voice carried across the small house as she searched room by room for her big sister.<em>

_Yang came stumbling out of the backyard, her face glistening with sweet. Grabbing her sister by her hood as she passed and clamping a hand over Ruby's mouth._

"_Alright Ruby I'm here no need to let half the neighbourhood hear you," she said taking her hand off, "so what's up?"_

_Ruby grabbed a box from behind her and gave it to Yang. Confused Yang opened it up to reveal two shiny yellow gauntlets. Ruby smiled as Yang's eyes widen and began tracing the gauntlets with her hands._

"_I just wanted to congratulate you for getting into Signal sis, so I made these for you since I know dad's been training you in hand to hand combat," she explained._

_Yang looked at her sister, tears welling in her eyes, "Ruby I… I don't know what to say."_

"_A thank you would be a start," she joked._

_Yang grabbed Ruby crushing her in a bear hug, tears streaming down her face, "thankyouthankyouthankyouyou'rethebestsisterever."_

"_Yang…please stop….can't breathe," choked out Ruby._

"_So," taking deep breaths after being freed, "what are you going call them?" she asked._

_Yang smiled, "these two gauntlets will be a holy fire to burn through the darkness, they will be Ember Celica."_

Red woke up red and teary eyed. 'It happened again and of course it had to be about Yang,' she thought depressed. Quietly getting off her bunk she got changed into Ruby's school uniform and looked up her schedule. She had Grimm Studies with Prof. Port first at 9 followed by History with Prof. Oobleck and unfortunately finishing the day with combat class with Prof. Goodwitch.

Sighing Red felt something in her jacket pocket. Curious she reached in and pulled out a silver whistle. She smirked as she remembered just where she'd seen it before. Quietly creeping up to Weiss she put the whistle to her mouth and blew.

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><p>Yang was enjoying her dreams of happier times with Ruby when she was woken by a loud shrill note piecing her dreams followed by a nostalgic, "GOOD MORNING TEAM RWBY!"<p>

Snapping her eyes open Yang saw Ruby laughing as Weiss fell out of her bed screaming. Unable to keep a straight face she burst out into laughter alongside her. Even Blake couldn't keep a smile forming on her face at the sight of the heiress falling flat on her backside. For a brief moment everything seemed back to normal and Yang couldn't be happier.

That was until Ruby saw her and her laughter ceased as she turned to look away, the guilty look on her face didn't go unnoticed by all of them. The look was gone in an instant though, so quickly that they almost thought they had imagined it.

"So Ruby, what are you doing up so early?" she asked.

"Well Yang, Ozpin said that I was cleared to resume my huntress duties including class," explained Ruby.

Yang flinched at the sound of her name, before smiling, "well that sucks now you have to suffer through Port's stories of when 'he was a young lad'," giving her best Port impersonation.

Ruby snorted, "I'm sure it's not that bad."

Grimm Studies was as boring as usual with the professor lost in tales of his 'gallant' past again. Yang snorted, half of them were probably lies and the other half exaggerated to the point where they were unrecognisable. Throughout it all she kept an eye on Ruby, she was definitely hiding something, that much Yang knew but what? It was odd sometimes she acted like her sister, this morning and the cookies being prime examples, yet at the same time acted like a completely different person, more mature, weary of people in general and much more vengeful. Groaning in relief as the bell rang she grabbed Ruby, much to her protest and they walked on to History.

History with Prof. Oobleck was nowhere near as boring as Grimm Studies, provided someone can keep up with his insane coffee high. Just watching him dart from corner to corner made her feel ill, she had no idea how Vomit Boy could handle it. Looking over at the said blonde she noticed he was falling asleep on his desk, 'hmm must have had a late night.' Unfortunately it seemed Cardin had also noticed but before he could begin to harass Jaune he was pelted by paper thrown from Ruby. Crying out he drew Prof. Oobleck's attention.

"Ah, Mr. Winchester finally about to contribute to class, excellent excellent! What advantage did the Faunus have against General Lagune's forces?" questioned the professor.

Everyone turned to look at Cardin who had the expression of a deer caught in headlights. The silence only broken by Ruby snickering in the background. Cardin turned to glare at her before looking back to the professor.

"Well I know it's a lot easier to train an animal then a soldier," he arrogantly stated.

"You're really not an open minded person are you Cardin?" commented Ruby.

Everyone turned from glaring at team CRDL to see Ruby with her now trademark grin. Yang began sending hand signals to tell her to stop but she either didn't understand or didn't care.

"What you got a problem?" he demanded, rising up from his chair.

Immediately Yang stood up ready to tackle Cardin if necessary. A brief look around showed Blake, Pyrrha and Nora doing the same with the rest of team CRDL.

"No I have the solution," she said before turning to Prof. Oobleck. "It's night vision, most Faunus are known to have near perfect vision in the dark. The General's forces were out matched and he was captured, maybe if he paid attention in class he wouldn't have been known as such a failure," finished Ruby.

Seething Cardin sat down, Yang also took her seat confused. 'If she has amnesia then how does she know that? We were only taught it a week ago.' Frowning she turned to Blake receiving a subtle nod in return, she wasn't the only one that noticed. As the period bell rang team RWBY made their way to combat class.

"Today we will be teaching you about tournament fights to prepare you for the upcoming Vytal Festival," explained Prof. Goodwitch.

The class erupted into whispers at this news while Yang was too preoccupied with her thoughts to pay much attention. Goodwitch waited for the noise to quieten down before continuing.

"As such, you will be divided into pairs and face each other in a one on one duel. The loser is the first to get their aura levels in the red. Understood?"

Taking the lack of sound as an affirmative she announced, "the first pair to face off will be Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose."

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><p><strong>So I didn't really like this chapter that much compared to the others for some reason. I mostly wrote it to show that the rest of team RWBY aren't complete idiots that are easily fooled. As for the people who noticed I changed to order of events from the series on purpose the idea is the Chaos Theory is coming into play thanks to Red. Also what did you guys think about <strong>**Yang's P.O.V. was it good and would you like to see more different characters perspective's or just stick with Red? As always forgive bad grammar and I hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. When Giants do Battle

**Ok so there was a bit of confusion about the last chapter. Yes I am aware that the class happens before Jaune's breakdown however due to Red beating up Cardin, Jaune's depression was accelerated so Pyrrha took him to the roof early, hence the messed up timeline. Well a new chapter to celebrate 1st episode of season 2. Awesome episode really brings food fights to a whole new level. Also thanks to Jacklyn Frost for the review it really helped.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did the food fight would've happened sooner.**

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><p>Red had been having a surprisingly good day all things considered. Grimm Studies was tolerable thanks to her over-active imagination. She honestly expected Port to begin sparkling, while talking about how this technique had been passed down his line for generations. History was interesting despite the fact that she had been dragged there by Yang. However it was strange the history lesson was one that should have happened before Jaune had his break down. As they walked into combat class and took their seats Red's face furrowed in confusion. Jaune had his breakdown early she knew that now but why, was she already having an effect on the time line and if so then what else will have changed?<p>

"The first pair to face off will be Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long," concluded Goodwitch.

'What!' Red jumped up, 'no this isn't right, they should have already had their first tournament practice match.'

"Just so you all know, after what happened the first time all safety features have been doubled checked and deemed safe, you have nothing to worry about, we don't want a repeat of what happened to Miss Rose after all," she assured the students.

'So that's it' thought Red trudging up to the stage with Yang alongside. 'Well that explains why I woke up in the infirmary at least.' Turning both of them walked to opposite ends of the stage and the large T.V screen flicked on showing both their auras and a countdown. 'Okay think, Yang knows all of Ruby's moves so I can't just rely on instincts like with Cardin.' Frowning she unsheathed Crescent Rose in scythe mode her eyes never leaving Yang's as the blonde's smug smile dropped under Red's gaze. 'So let's use that against her,' Red's face became expressionless as the countdown continued ticking.

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><p>Yang felt confident she could beat Ruby, they'd sparred before and knew each other's moves off by heart. However after taking one look at her Yang dropped her smugness instantly, Ruby was looking at her with a calculating look that she'd never seen before. She quickly got into her stance, her instincts warning her to use extreme caution in this fight. Locking gazes with her sister they both waited for the countdown to finish.<p>

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><p>DING<p>

Red was moving before the bell had even finished, speeding towards Yang with Crescent Rose following close behind. Eyes widening Yang rolled to the side using her momentum to sweep kick Red off her feet. Seeing this Red fired her scythe and flew into the air before kicking herself off the wall. Landing behind Yang she threw a sucker punch into her gut, causing Yang to wince in pain and spin around before releasing her own hay-maker. Only to meet rose petals as Red appeared above her, Crescent Rose now in gun mode and fired a rapid burst into the stunned blonde. Yang crashed through the floor as the bullet ridden region of stage was no longer able to support her weight. Red landed on one of the undamaged areas, reloading and waiting for the dust to clear.

* * *

><p>Yang groaned, she had clearly underestimated Ruby and was now paying for it. This hit and run tactic was a completely different style to Ruby's usual tactics. Still it had worked, she had been caught completely by surprise and her aura was already down by half. Frowning she stood up, her eyes now a vibrant red and her hair beginning to glow.<p>

Jumping out of her hole Yang smashed Ember Celica into where Ruby had been moments ago, creating a large shock wave. Remembering what happened last time Yang dove to the side narrowly avoiding another rapid burst from Crescent Rose. Spinning around she charged Ruby intending to get in close and gain the advantage. Ruby switched to scythe mode and attempted to back-pedal to gain more distance but Yang had cornered her between the wall and the damaged stage. The brawler began her assault landing punch after punch on Ruby as she tried to dodge the onslaught, her aura rapidly depleting. In desperation Ruby swung Crescent Rose like a baseball bat hitting Yang dead centre on the chest, causing her to become momentarily stunned. Ruby used this opening to immediately get some distance between them.

* * *

><p>Red stood there watching Yang as they both tried to catch their breath, the class silent as they watched the battle between giants. At first the plan had been going well, half of Yang's aura taken down in an instant but she forgot a very important thing, she wasn't the only one that could strategize. She'd underestimated the blonde and now had the bruises to show for it, as well as being one hit off getting in the red.<p>

"Well sis, I can honestly say that this has been the best fight I've had in a long while," commented Yang, her hair getting brighter every second. "But I think it's time to end this," she finished, slamming her gauntlets together.

Eyes widening Red sprinted forward realizing what was about to happen, only to be thrown back by a shock wave of heat and energy. Yang stood there, her hair ablaze and flames surrounding her body as she calmly walked over to Red. Quickly standing up Red fired at her, only to see the rounds melt before even coming into contact with their targets. Red circled Yang empting all her clips, attempting to find a weak spot in the flame shield to no avail. Yang smiled and fired rounds of her own which Red blocked by twirling Crescent Rose in front of her. Seeing the brawler's brief look of surprise Red advanced, bringing Crescent Rose in for an overhead swing to finally finish the fight. The blonde's red eyes widen before the smirk returned and to everyone's surprise she caught the scythe mid swing. Using the scythe as leverage Yang pulled Red towards her, Ember Celica raised for the finishing blow.

"Nice trick sis, too bad you've used it before," taunted Yang.

Seeing no other option Red let go of the scythe and semblanced to the other end of the stage. The class began to murmur, seeing her with no weapon and one hit away from losing. 'Damn it if I can get around that fire shield I might have a chance, but all I have at my disposal is speed. Wait that's it!' Red turned to face Yang, 'let's see just how fast you are Ruby' she grinned. Activating her semblance she began to run in a circle around Yang, each rotation getting faster and faster. Slowly but surely a vortex began forming as more and more of Yang's flames began dying out. Red kept going faster as she saw Yang begin to sway, her eyes returning to their normal colour, her hands clutching her throat. Finally Yang Xiao Long, the Blonde Brawler of Beacon, fell down unconscious.

Seeing her opponent go down Red smiled before pain erupted in her head and she collapsed onto the stage right next to Yang. The class was completely silent trying to comprehend what they just saw. Clearing her throat Prof. Goodwitch turned to address them.

"Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee, please take your teammates to the infirmary, the rest of you class is cancelled, dismissed."

As the last of the students left the room Glynda took out her scroll. "Headmaster, I think you'll want to see this."

* * *

><p><strong>Well I must say this was my favourite chapter to write yet and also one of the hardest. I have a new respect for author's that write fight scenes they're difficult to do. So anyway hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, unfortunately assignments are starting to catch up so don't expect many updates for a while sorry.<strong>


	6. Thnks fr th mmrs

**One assignment done one chapter to celebrate WAHOO! Also shout out to Jacob Rickshaw for thinking up an awesome name for this genre 'takeover fiction.' Here's hoping it becomes more common among fanficts. Ok so I feel I'll need to address this Red will not have seen any of volume two not even the production diaries simply because knowing all Cinder and Torchwick's plans would be no fun. **

**I don't own RWBY if I did Nora would have broken Cardin's legs.**

* * *

><p>"<em>You're a Huntress…Can I have your autograph?"…<em>

"_You're Professor Ozpin, you're the head master of Beacon"…_

"_But why would I need friends when I have you?"…_

"_You don't even know me"…_

"_Is she right? Did you make a mistake?"… _

"_As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"_

"_Well that's why we're here. To make it better,"…_

Red slowly came to, her body feeling like it was made from lead. Grimacing she clutched her head in pain, her headache making itself known. 'That one was different from the rest, they didn't cause nearly as much pain.' Frowning at the thought of her condition getting worse she rose from the bed, trying to ignore the pain. Opening her eyes Red realized she was again in the infirmary, 'I really need to stop waking up in here.' Feeling something on her legs Red looked down and saw Yang, asleep at the end of the bed. Smiling Red gently shook Yang rousing the blonde from her slumber.

"Are you okay sis? I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have gone all out like that," Yang quickly apologized.

Red climbed out of the bed, turning to face Yang with a fake look of hurt on her face. "My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that I'm weak? I'm hurt that my own sister thinks so little of me," she finished with a fake sob.

Yang immediately began apologizing again, her face priceless. Unable to hold it in anymore Red burst into laughter.

"Oh ha ha Ruby very funny," grumbled Yang. "But seriously you okay? This is the second time you've woken up in the infirmary in 3 days," she asked, concern clear in her voice.

Red looked out the window at the moon, unable to look Yang in the eye. "Under the circumstances I think I'm doing rather well," replied Red, a sad smile across her face.

Before Yang could respond she was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Both of them turned to see the rest of team RWBY and JNPR walk in. Nora ran up to Red, bellowing about how cool that fight was and what her favourite parts were, not even pausing to breathe. Red flinched, her headache acting up at the loud voice literally meters from her.

"Nora I've got a bit of a headache, could you be a tad quieter please?" she begged.

Nora grinned sheepishly before darting back to Ren, who gave Red an apologetic look. Nodding to him Red turned to Yang.

"So how long was I out?" she asked.

Yang shrugged before turning to Blake, who was watching Red carefully.

"You've been out for two hours, Yang only woke up half an hour ago," explained the faunas.

"Yeah then Yang told us to get something to eat and that she'd call when you woke up," continued Nora.

Red looked at them in surprise. "Hold on, you guys were waiting for me?" she asked, confused.

"Of course!" replied Jaune shocked, "you're our friend Ruby, it wouldn't be the same eating without you."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, even Weiss. Red's vision blurred as she threw her hood over her head, if anyone noticed her watering eyes, they were smart enough to not comment. 'Maybe I should just tell them, Yang deserves to know at least, she's my sister.' Red blinked where had that come from? Yang was Ruby's sister not her's. Suddenly a voice came over the PA system, causing Red's headache to return with a vengeance.

"Ruby Rose you are wanted at the headmaster's office immediately," it announced.

Sighing Red thanked all her friends before telling them to go back to the dorms and get some rest. Closing the door behind her she walked off to Ozpin's office, 'I don't know whether to be proud or sad that I've memorized the way to his office already.'

* * *

><p>"What do you think they're calling her into the office for?" asked Nora.<p>

"Maybe to talk to her about the stage, you guys did do a lot of damage," answered Weiss.

Yang jumped up, "I better go too, might be able to get him to let Ruby off the hook. It was my fault after all."

Pyrrha grabbed Yang's shoulder, leading her away from the door. "Don't worry Yang if that was the case they would have called you up too, he probably just wants an update on her…condition," she finished, pausing to look for the right word.

Yang deflated at this, in truth she'd forgotten about Ruby's 'amnesia'. Weiss and Blake nodded to each other, grabbing Yang they dragged her out of the infirmary.

"You guys go on ahead, we've got some catching up to do," informed Blake, ignoring the struggling blonde.

* * *

><p>Red sat in the chair opposite from Ozpin, a steaming mug of coffee in her hand, both of them were silent as they drank their coffee. Honestly Red couldn't see why he liked the stuff so much, still it was a free drink so she wasn't going to complain. Finally Ozpin put down his cup, a ghost of a smile on his face.<p>

"Well Miss Rose you certainly don't do things halfway do you? Three visits to my office in as many days, I dare say this is a new record," he commented, amused.

"Yeah sorry about that, we got really into the fight and kind of went overboard," she grinned, sheepishly.

"Indeed," mused Ozpin, "but that is not why I called you here. Tell me how is your condition going, has anything returned?"

* * *

><p>"What are we doing here?" she whispered to her teammates.<p>

"Quite you dolt! You'll get us caught," Weiss whispered back.

"You did want to find out more about what's going on with Ruby," answered Blake.

"Eavesdropping on the headmaster was not what I had in mind!" she shot back.

"Quiet! They've started talking," ordered Weiss.

All three of them pressed themselves up against the door, trying to catch the conversation between the room's two occupants. Yang heaved a sigh of relief in hearing Ruby wasn't in trouble, however her eyes widen and she pressed herself up further against the door upon hearing Ozpin's next question.

"… has anything returned?"

* * *

><p>Red stared down at the cup in her hand, debating. 'Should I tell him? It wouldn't be a lie after all.' Taking a deep breath she looked up at Ozpin.<p>

"Actually Headmaster, I've had a couple of memory flashes," she admitted.

Ozpin's eyebrows raised as he placed his cup down, a serious expression present on his face. "Really? This is good it means we are making progress. If you don't mind could you explain these 'flashes'?"

Red nodded, "well I've had three so far, all of them while I was asleep," she explained. "The first two were specific memories, while the last was… different… more like emotions or drives than a specific memory itself."

"Interesting, do you have any idea what could have triggered these memories?" he asked, clearly taking mental notes.

Leaning back Red closed her eyes and began to ponder on the past three days, looking for a connection, to no avail. Sighing Red ran her hand through her hair in frustration before having a brain wave.

"Unfortunately Headmaster I don't know what triggered the first and third," she said opening her eyes. "But I think I know what caused the second flash."

"Oh really, well then do tell," he ordered, intrigued.

Taking a sip from her coffee Red began, "I was heading back to the dorms and I overheard the rest of my team arguing about… something, Yang got really depressed afterwards. When I went to sleep that night I had a dream about the time Ru- I made Ember Celica for her."

* * *

><p>They all looked at each other with ashamed expressions. Ruby had heard they argument last night, it was a wonder she even talked to them after that. 'Wait that meant she heard what I said last night. I guess that's why she won't look at me.' Yang decided that she would apologize to Ruby after this, maybe take her out to Vale, let her get out of Beacon for a while.<p>

"Guys I think we should go," she suggested to her teammates.

Unfortunately they were both too absorbed in their eavesdropping to hear. Sighing Yang again pressed herself up against the door, frowning.

* * *

><p>If Ozpin noticed Red's slip up he didn't comment. "I see so your thoughts of Miss Xiao Long caused memories of her to surface. Could you please tell me what the first memory flash was?" he asked, instead.<p>

Red thought about it for a moment before shrugging, "Sure I guess, the first memory flash was of me visiting the grave of someone known as Summer Rose."

* * *

><p>'Out of all the memories that had to return it had to be that one,' thought Yang clenching her fists.<p>

"Who's Summer Rose?" asked Weiss.

Blake just shrugged, "family member probably."

Yang grabbed them, "alright this has gone on long enough, we're leaving," she growled.

Both of gulped, they hadn't seen Yang this angry since that time CRDL had sprayed her hair black. Yang glared at her teammates, daring them to argue, before pulling them from the door. Throwing them over her shoulders Yang walked back to dorms, ignoring the cries of her teammates, her head filled with plans.

* * *

><p>Red was expecting the normal reaction from Ozpin at this news. Instead she was surprised to see his expression turn sombre. He stood up and walked up to Red before taking the empty cup from her hands, his eyes not meeting her's.<p>

"How much do you remember about Summer?" he asked.

"Not much, just the visit itself," she answered.

"I see, well perhaps that's for the best. However if you ever need to talk to someone my door is always open," he offered, escorting her out.

As the door closed behind her Red walked to the dorms, thinking on the last discussion. Just what had happened to Summer that could cause Ozpin to act like that? Deciding to look into to it later she opened the door to team RWBY's dorm.

"What the hell?!"

* * *

><p><strong>What happened to Summer? Will it be canon or something far worse? What did Red see in the dorms? And will we ever get back to the canon episodes? Find out in the next episode of Digimon Digital Monsters...wait... shit...<strong>


	7. Iron Chef and a Funeral in Fall

**What's this another update already! Well don't get used to it guys I still have lots of assignments to do. But my muse decided to visit me in the night and I wanted to write it down so I wouldn't forget it. It was originally meant to be dot points but before I knew it it was 2am and I'd written an entire chapter. So yeah hope you guys like it.**

**I don't own Ruby if I did we would have seen backstory about Summer already.**

* * *

><p>"What the hell?!"<p>

Red's jaw dropped, the entire room looked like it had been hit with a nuke. There was a thick gooey substance covering everything from the walls to the beds, Fort Ruby had even collapsed on to Weiss's bed. Not to mention the burn marks along the floor and ceiling and what looked like fire extinguisher foam next to it. Noticing that there was smoke coming out of the dorm's kitchenette Red quickly opened the window before fearfully glancing in. The sight that greeted her wasn't much of a surprise, all the pots and pans were blackened or destroyed outright and smoke was escaping the closed oven. Quickly turning off the oven before it caught alight she looked around wondering what the hell had happened here.

Apparently the universe heard her because not ten seconds later the door opened and the rest of team RWBY walked in, covered with gunk and smelling of smoke. Upon noticing Red they smiled but then stopped in their tracks, seeing her seething with anger.

"Oh hey Ruby, you back already huh?" greeted Yang.

Red glared at her and Yang immediately shrunk under gaze. Red turned to look each one in the eye before facing palming with a sigh.

"One hour, I left you alone for one goddamn hour and look what happened!" she raged at them. "How the hell do you manage to destroy half the dorm and nearly burn down the other half in only one hour?!"

"It wasn't easy, we really had to it work at it," joked Yang.

They backed away as Red gave them a chilling smile and brought out Crescent Rose. As she vanished in a cloud of petals the rest of team RWBY heard the door close behind them. Turning they saw Red blocking their exit, her smile widening.

"You three have 30 seconds to explain how this happened or you all get to see just how much I remember about Crescent Rose," she threatened.

"Wait we can explain!" cried Yang.

* * *

><p>30 minutes ago<p>

"Yang what are we doing here?" asked Weiss.

"We're getting ready to apologise to Ruby," responded Yang.

"Okay we get that, but why did we take all these supplies from the cafeteria?" questioned Blake.

"Despite what you may think Ruby's favourite food isn't cookies, it's actually strawberries. So we're going to make her strawberry cupcakes as an apology," answered Yang.

"I didn't know you could cook," commented Weiss.

"Oh I can't Ruby did all the cooking but then again how hard could it be?" challenged Yang.

Blake just sighed, realizing this would probably end badly.

20 minutes ago

"Ok so it says to put the mixture in bowl and use the beater to mix it," instructed Yang.

Weiss nodded and started up the beater, causing the mixture to spray in her face. Yelping in surprise Weiss dropped the bowl and beater, the mixture began to spray everywhere, coating the dorm in thick globes of the stuff.

15 minutes ago

"Ok so our first attempt didn't go so well," admitted Yang. "So this time we're doing it differently, because we lost the premade mixture we have to make our own," she continued. "Ok Blake, it says to add oil to the pan followed by flour and eggs."

"How much oil?" asked Blake.

"Hmm it doesn't say, we're running out of time so just put in half to speed it up," answered Yang.

Shrugging Blake added the oil, unfortunately as soon as the flour was added the pot burst into flames. Jumping in surprise Blake accidently threw the pot into the bedroom area, instantly the flames began spreading. Panicking Weiss threw a bucket of water on the flames, unfortunately creating a fireball of extreme proportions. This fireball reached the ropes hanging Fort Ruby from the ceiling, eating through them greedily. With a loud groan Fort Ruby came tumbling down crushing most of Weiss's bed on impact, the flames continuing to spread.

5 minutes ago

"Ok this is it we're finally done, all we need to do is put it in the oven to cook," sighed an exhausted Yang. "It says to leave it in there for an hour at 60 degrees, damn no time. Ok so we'll put it up to 180 degrees and come back in 20 minutes."

Cheering they got up and left to return the remaining supplies back to the cafeteria. Yang smiled, boy was Ruby in for a surprise when she got back.

* * *

><p>Red blinked before giving an exasperated sigh and sheathing Crescent Rose. Motioning for them to follow her she led them to the burnt out kitchenette. Opening the oven door smoke began filling the room, coughing all three of them looked at the charred remains of their hard work in front of them. All of them had a combination of looks of disappointment, confusion and rage, lots and lots of rage. Yang finally snapped screaming bloody murder she picked up the 'food' and chucked it out the window.<p>

"Alright due to this incident, as my power as team leader, I am banning all three of you from ever cooking anywhere without me or someone qualified observing you," Red announced failing to hide her amusement.

Strangely enough none of them seemed too upset by this decision. Her customary smirk returning Red issued their punishment, cleaning the dorms, much to the dismay of Weiss.

"Hold on, you said that you did this in half an hour, so what did you do in the first half?" Red asked, confused.

All three shared looks before replying in unison, "nothing."

Red snorted, turning to walk to the door, "I know you're lying but quite frankly it's late and I'm tired, so I don't care."

"Hold on! Where are you going?" demanded Weiss.

"Team JNPR's room hopefully they won't mind me sleeping there tonight, after all I want to be alert for our excursion to Forever Falls," replied Red, closing the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Forever Fall really was beautiful, the show didn't do it justice. Red smiled taking a deep breath of the sweet scented air.<p>

"You seem awfully chipper this morning, something good happen?" asked Yang.

"Yeah it's the first time being out of Beacon remember? Plus look at this place it's beautiful," explained Red happily.

Glynda must have heard her, "yes students the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful but we are not her to sight see. Prof. Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest and I'm her to make sure none of you die while doing so. Each of you is to gather one jar of red sap, however this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock, have fun."

Red and Yang turned to each other grinning and joined the rest of their team to collect the sap. As they began collecting the sap Red couldn't escape the feeling that's she's forgetting something important. Shrugging she put the thought to the back of her mind and focused on enjoying her brief time out of Beacon. After collecting their sap team RWBY headed over to help JNPR, Jaune was sitting out since he was apparently allergic to the stuff.

Upon seeing Jaune Red's eyes widened in understanding before smiling, 'he was supposed to be helping Cardin at this point.' Her smile didn't last long though since Jaune was the one responsible for stopping Cardin from pranking Pyrrha. Looking around she noticed that team CRDL was missing, 'this can't be good.'

"Hey guys, where's Cardin and his lackeys?" she asked.

Everyone turned to look at her before shrugging. 'Damn it that was not what I was hoping for.'

"They disappeared a while ago, shortly after you guys walked off. Don't worry though even they're not that stupid to wonder off alone," informed Jaune.

Red nodded and struck up a conversation with Jaune but couldn't shake a familiar feeling. The last time she felt like this was right before the parkour accident. Frowning she grabbed Jaune and made her way over to their teams, 'I'm not making the same mistake twice.'

"Guys I think we should go, I've got a really bad feeling about this place," she suggested.

The teams looked at each other, clearly surprised that the previously cheerful Ruby suddenly seemed so worried or even scared. Deciding that anything that has Ruby worried is something dangerous both teams packed up as fast as possible and headed for the clearing.

As they were walking to the clearing Red suddenly felt something hit her, looking down she froze. There dripping off her torso was a large amount of sap. Hearing laughter coming from nearby she turned to see Cardin staring at her as he opened a box. The cold feeling of dread returned as Red saw the swarm being unleashed.

"Rapier Wasps RUN!" yelled Red before dashing off into the forest.

The swarm followed her, completely ignoring her friends, the scent of the sap driving them into a frenzy. 'Ok think if they're like the wasps back home then all I need to do is find a river or lake to lose them,' she thought, racing through the underbrush. As the chase went on Red became even more grateful for Ruby's semblance, as it was the only thing keeping her ahead of the swarm. Finally after what seemed like hours Red arrived in a clearing with a flowing river, seeing her chance she dove in and waited.

When it seemed that the wasps had finally given up, Red sighed in relief. However the sigh died in her throat as the current began to grow rough, dashing her against rocks as she struggled to stay afloat. Gasping Red tried to get out but her chase with the Rapier wasps had left her exhausted, both physically and mentally. It was all she could do to grab on to a nearby floating log before blacking out completely.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Happiness – Requiem from the blind alchemist - FMA Brotherhood OST<strong>_

_There was silence in the room, no sounds of the birds chirping, people chatting or the wind blowing. Just silence. It suited Ruby just fine, gave her time for her thoughts as she waited. A man walked up to the pedestal to begin the ceremony, followed by dad and Uncle Qrow. Recognizing that as the signal Ruby began to play, her notes creating a haunting melody as people became completely still. As her song came to an end Ruby got up from the piano and walked over to the pedestal. Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions she began._

"_God saw you getting tired_

_and a cure was not to be_

_so he put his arms around you_

_and whispered, _'_Come to Me'_

_With tearful eyes we watched you_

_and saw you pass away_

_and although we love you dearly_

_we could not make you stay._

_A Golden heart stopped beating_

_hard working hands at rest._

_God broke our hearts to prove to us_

_He only takes the best."_

_Ruby choked, tears welling in her eyes. She felt someone grab her arm and give it a gentle squeeze. Looking to her side she saw her sister Yang giving her a supporting nod. Wiping the tears from her eyes Ruby continued._

"_It's lonesome here without you_

_We miss you so each day,_

_Our lives aren't the same_

_Since you went away._

_When days are sad and lonely,_

_And everything goes wrong,_

_We seem to hear you whisper,_

_'Cheer up and carry on.'_

_Each time we see your picture,_

_You seem to smile and say,_

_'Don't cry, I'm in God's keeping,_

_We'll meet again someday.'"_

_As everyone began leaving Ruby continued to stare at the coffin. Clenching her fists, her make up a complete ruin. It was her fault, if it wasn't for her none of this would have happened._

"_I'm so sorry mom," she whispered._

"_Ruby she wouldn't want you to act like this and she doesn't blame you, you know that," came a male voice from behind._

_Turning she saw her Uncle Qrow, with a sad expression on his face as he looked on at the coffin. Kneeling down he gave Ruby a hug as she cried onto his shoulder. Breaking free from the hug, Ruby wiped the tears away before looking up at Qrow._

"_Uncle Qrow, I want to become stronger. I don't want anyone else to feel like this, please will you teach me?" she begged._

_Qrow looked her in the eyes, "very well but on one condition, you have to start smiling again."_

* * *

><p>Slowly opening her eyes Red wiped the remnants of tears from them, 'well that was… enlightening' she thought with a frown. Groaning she attempted to stand up before toppling over, her legs buckling under the weight. Sitting down she took note of her surroundings, definitely not somewhere seen in the show meaning she had no idea where she was. 'Maybe my scroll could tell me.' Bringing out her scroll threw that option away out the window. It was completely broken not even a single part of it didn't have a crack in it, 'great just perfect.' Laying down on the ground Red began debating her next move, when a very familiar sound came from behind her. Blood draining from her face Red turned to see an Ursa major emerging from the woods, looking directly at her.<p>

"Oh shit…"

* * *

><p><strong>Well what did you guys think? Also for those who are wondering I didn't think up that poem, it was from my Grandma's funeral a couple of years ago called Come With Me or God saw you getting tired (depending on who you talk to). I'm not really religious but that poem was nice so I decided to include it. As for the kitchen scene that was actually based off me, granted it didn't escalated to their proportions but I did nearly burn down the house, I couldn't resist putting it in. The reason that the fireball was created when Weiss threw water on it is because it is a Grease Fire and let me tell you they are terrifying. <strong>


	8. If you go down to the woods today

**Hey guys good news found out the last assignment has been delayed so expect another chapter relatively soon. Anyway I enjoyed writing this one for some reason so enjoy.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I would make and sell that Risk cross Yu Gi Oh board game.**

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you can't find her?" screamed Yang.<p>

"Exactly that Yang, we've looked everywhere," Blake calmly replied.

Shortly after the Rapier Wasps the teams had scattered in different directions and so far everyone had returned except for Ruby and that was over an hour ago. To say Yang was taking it well was to say that Grimm were friendly, a complete lie.

"Look I know you're worried about her but we need to wait for Ren and Pyrrha to get back with Prof. Goodwitch. We have a better chance of finding her if we co-ordinate together," reasoned Weiss.

"More importantly where did those Rapier Wasps come from and why'd they only go after Ruby?" questioned Jaune.

Everyone stopped to look at him. He was right that was not normal behaviour for them, to attack all of them sure but to single out one person and to pursue them afterwards. 'Something else is going on here and when I find out what there will be hell to pay.' Hearing noises behind her Yang turned to see team CRDL laughing as they came out of the woods.

"And where the hell have you been?" she demanded.

"Where me and MY team have been is no concern of yours Blondie," responded Cardin.

Yang growled as her eyes flashed red before feeling Blake grab her shoulder and shake her head. Taking deep breaths Yang lowered her fists and slowly her eyes returned to their normal colour. Cardin snorted at this display and began looking around, a frown growing on his face.

"Hey where's the shrimp?" he asked.

"Missing, a swarm of Rapier Wasps attacked and we were separated. That was over an hour ago," informed Blake. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" asked Blake, narrowing her eyes.

Cardin and his team briefly hesitated before sharing a glance between them. Unfortunately this didn't go unnoticed by Yang. Running up to them she grabbed Cardin's manhood, making a show of deploying Ember Celica in front of him.

"You bastards! If I find that even one hair is missing from her head you going to be known as Ms. Winchester got it?" she screamed into his face.

"Miss Xiao Long put him down!" ordered Goodwitch.

As Ren and Pyrrha rejoined their teams Prof. Goodwitch turned to address everyone. "We will get to the bottom of what happened later for now our primary focus is finding Miss Rose, understood?"

Receiving nods from everyone she took out her scroll, "according to this the last known position of Miss Rose's scroll is south from here. We will split into teams to cover more ground I will go with team RWBY," she paused before turning to Yang.

"If we haven't found her by the time it gets dark we'll call off the search and begin again in the morning with a proper search party. Is that understood Miss Xiao Long?" demanded Goodwitch.

Yang wanted to argue but knew there was no point, so she just kept her mouth shut and nodded. 'Hold on Ruby we'll find you.'

* * *

><p>"Umm… Nice Ursa, friendly Ursa… you wouldn't hurt an innocent little girl now would you?" joked Red as she struggled to get up.<p>

Her legs screamed in protest at this and she winced. The Ursa sensing an easy meal began to approach her growling and Red began backing up in fear. 'This is not good I can't fight it in this condition,' she thought panicky. She kept backing up until her foot hit water, taking a quick glance behind her revealed a large lake and flowing waterfall. 'That must have been how I washed up here,' she realized. It would have been rather beautiful if not for the current situation. Turning her attention back to the Ursa she saw that it was much closer than before. Roaring the Ursa charged Red who barely managed to dive to the side in time, the claws creating large tears in her cloak.

Cursing Red began looking for an escape route, her eyes rested on the same log she'd used before. Only problem, there was an angry giant bear between her and it. 'I have to get the timing exactly right,' frowned Red. Yelling at the top of her lungs Red charged the Ursa, who stood up to give her a very strong bear hug. Red smirked using the mud to her advantage she slid between the Ursa's hind legs, grabbed the log and pushed herself off the shore. Laughing that her stupid plan had worked she turned to look at the shore and the laughter died in her throat. The Ursa had jumped in and was dog paddling after her. Red began swimming to the other shore as fast as her broken body would allow, praying to reach it before the Ursa reached her.

* * *

><p>"Hey Cardin, do think Ruby's ok?" asked Dove.<p>

"I don't know man I hope so, the prank wasn't meant to go this far only get back at her," admitted Cardin.

"Somehow I don't think the Blonde Brawler will think the same," commented Sky.

All of them shuddered at that thought. Snapping out of it Cardin looked around, this was the last known location that Ruby's scroll had reported before the signal was lost. It didn't feel Cardin with great hope that it was at the waterfall that gave this place its name or that a storm was brewing above them. Looking down on the lake below Cardin blinked, 'was that a flash of red or are my eyes playing tricks on me?'

"Hey Dove pass me the binoculars," he ordered said teammate.

Looking through them Cardin's heart skipped several beat. There floating in the middle of the lake were large strips of a red material. 'Oh God, no no no! Please let me be wrong.'

Turning to his team he ordered, "We've got to get down there now! And one of you get ready to contact Prof. Goodwitch."

Sprinting as fast as they could team CRDL found themselves on the shore of the great lake. Spreading out they began their search, as the storm began to unleash a mighty downpour.

"Ruby! Where are you? We're so sorry, come on out everyone is worried!" called Cardin.

Hearing a sound coming from behind him he turned hoping to see Ruby. Instead the sight that greeted him was one of the biggest Ursas he'd ever seen, a strip of red cloth hanging out its mouth. Cardin felt a something wet run down his check and it wasn't from the rain.

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><p><strong>Someone pointed out that I do a lot of cliff hanger endings for chapters. Believe it or not they are usually unintentional, this is the first that isn't. Anyway hope you enjoyed A Rose by Any Other Name brought to you by Dro... What?... We're not done?... I see...<strong>


	9. Conversations around the campfire

**You guys didn't think I'd keep you hanging like that did you? I'd already had this chapter written and it was meant to be part of the previous one, I just wanted to mess with Frost :P. Also I noticed my chapters on average seem to be getting longer, weird huh? Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter, no more rapid updates after this though unfortunately.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I would get Casey Williams to sing this.**

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><p>Red kept paddling, hearing the growling of the Ursa getting louder every minute. Just as she reached the shore she felt something yank on her back. Looking behind her she screamed, the Ursa had bit into her cloak and was pulling her back in. Using every last scrap of strength left Red activated her semblance, causing her cloak to tear in two and the Ursa to fall back into the water. Seeing her chance Red darted into the underbrush, the Ursa sniffed the air before disappearing into the opposite direction of Red. She sighed in relief and collapsed, 'a couple of minutes rest wouldn't hurt,' she thought her eyelids getting heavy. 'I'll just take a quick nap.'<p>

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><p>Cardin saw the Ursa in front of him rear up, quickly blocking the swipe with his mace. He was thrown into the nearby tree by the force alone. One of his teammates commented about that being 'a big Ursa', before all three turn tail and ran leaving Cardin to fend for himself. Strangely he found that he didn't care, maybe it was his punishment. The Ursa that killed Ruby also gets him, a certain poetic justice in a way. Meeting the Ursa in the eye he watched it prepare the finishing blow.<p>

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><p>Red awoke to the sound of yelling, "… come out everyone's worried."<p>

'Is that Cardin? That bastard! When I get my hands on him.' Her thoughts of revenge were interrupted by an all too familiar sound. Looking out from her cover she saw the same Ursa major from before attacking Cardin. Red smiled, the irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. Suddenly the rest of team CRDL ditched Cardin, she snorted 'the more things change the more they stay the same.' However this left Red with a dilemma, should she help? He was responsible for nearly getting her killed after all, plus in her weaken state she might not be able to beat the Grimm. 'Why should I risk my life for him,' thought Red, getting up to move to a more sheltered hiding spot.

'_As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!'_

Red stopped in her tracks frowning, looking in a puddle showed an innocent looking Ruby staring back at her with questioning eyes. Sighing Red brought out Crescent Rose and ran back, "damn it Ruby, what have you done to me?" she muttered.

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><p><em>Clang<em>

Cardin's eyes widen in surprise, there standing in front of him was none other than Ruby Rose. Using her scythe as a staff she'd blocked the blow meant for him, taking a step back she removed her scythe causing the Ursa to overcompensate and stumble in the wet mud. Both of them quickly got some distance from the Grimm. Noticing him staring she turned to face him.

"What up Cardin? You look like you've seen a ghost," joked Ruby.

He just stood there gawking, "You're alive?"

Ruby looked back at the Grimm suddenly serious, "not for much longer if we don't deal with him. Listen I need you to distract it and keep it busy, can you do that?" she asked.

Nodding Cardin picked up his mace, turning to face the Ursa. Both of them circled it in opposite directions forcing the Grimm to divide its attention between them. Ruby nodded at him giving the signal, bellowing a war cry he charged the Ursa swinging the mace in a two handed grip into its shin. Roaring in pain the Grimm turned its baleful red eyes onto him. Ducking under the incoming swipe Cardin slammed his mace into the same shin, causing it to shatter with a loud crack. Now hobbling the Ursa slipped in the mud and toppled over, seeing her chance Ruby leapt onto its back placing her scythe along its neck. Ruby fired her weapon using the whole clip in combination with her semblance to decapitate the Grimm. As she casually leapt off the corpse Cardin just stared slack jawed.

Looking over to him she smirked, "come on let's get out of this rain."

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><p>"Prof. Goodwitch this is Cardin of team CRDL I've found Ruby Rose of team RWBY. Professor? Hello? Does anyone read me?" Cardin shouted into his scroll.<p>

Red frowned, "no luck?"

Cardin shook his head, "either this storm is causing interference or they're out of range. Either way it doesn't matter, soon it'll be dark and they'll have to return to Beacon."

Red sighed, looks like they were spending the night here. Here being an abandoned cave near the lake edge. Stretching Red got up and headed back to the cave entrance, causing Cardin to grab her shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, more curious than angry.

"If we're going to stay the night some firewood will be helpful don't you think?" responded Red.

Cardin nodded, "true I'll get it you stay here, I can tell you're exhausted so get some rest. I'd rather not have to face the wrath of your sister."

Red looked at him in surprise, this was not what she expected. Choosing to not look a gift horse in the mouth Red just sat down, muttering thanks as her eyelids once again grew heavy.

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><p>Red woke up to a sight she didn't expect to see, Cardin had not only got firewood he'd even started a proper fire. She was impressed maybe he wasn't just a jar-head jock. Walking over the two crowded around the fire in silence, broken only by the sound of the wind howling outside.<p>

"Why?" asked Cardin.

Red looked up, "huh? Why what?"

Cardin didn't move, just kept staring at the fire. "Why did you save me? Even my own team abandoned me, so why?"

Red's eyes glazed over and she too began just staring at the crackling fire, almost hypnotized by its movements. Thinking back she gave a dark chuckle.

"I screwed someone over badly, they had hopes and dreams and I just took them from her. So I decided I would live out her dreams for her. You're a dick Cardin but I won't let you die for something stupid like that, she wouldn't let me."

Cardin just looked up, "for what it's worth, thanks Red."

Red froze, "what did you call me?" she asked, shakily.

Cardin frowned, "umm… Red you know because of your cloak. Seems like a better nickname then shrimp. I can call you something else if you want?"

_He laughed, "awe well don't you look adorable, I think I'm gonna call you Little Red now."_

_Red just sighed knowing she'd have to put up with this the entire night. Still at least it would stop after tonight. There's no way he would keep it up after Halloween, would he? Somehow she didn't feel that confident about it._

Red shook the memory away, sighing in relief, "no it's ok it has… just been a long time since someone called me that, that's all."

Cardin nodded in understanding and the two began to descend into an awkward silence. Red's mind was elsewhere thinking about home, her old friends and the fun they used to have.

"_Remember Little Red, we might not see each other as often but we are still friends," he smiled._

"_Yeah but it won't be as much fun without you," she smiled, sadly._

_She felt him give her a playful shove, "tell you what I'll teach you my favourite song, whenever you're feeling down just sing it. It really helps," his smile grew as he ruffled her hair._

Tears began pouring down Red's face as the memory faded, unable to take the silence any more she followed his advice.

_Of all the money that e'er I had_

_I spent it in good company_

_And all the harm I've ever done _

_Alas it was to none but me _

_And all I've done for want of wit _

_To mem'ry now I can't recall _

_So fill to me the parting glass_

_Good night and joy be to you all_

_Of all the comrades that e'er I had_

_They're sorry for my going away_

_And all the sweethearts that e'er I'd had_

_They'd wish me one more day to stay _

_But since it falls unto my lot_

_That I should rise and you should not _

_I gently rise and softly call_

_Good night and joy be with you all_

_A man may drink and not be drunk_

_A man may fight and not be slain_

_A man may court a pretty girl_

_And perhaps be welcomed back again_

_But since it has so ordered been_

_By a time to rise and a time to fall_

_Come fill to me the parting glass_

_Goodnight and joy be with you all_

_Come fill to me the parting glass_

_Goodnight and joy be with you all…_

Cardin sat in silence listening to the song, speaking up once it was over. "That was beautiful, where did you learn it?" he asked.

Red looked up to face him, "it was taught to me by an old friend back home, but he… moved away… left Vale. I doubt I'll ever see him again."

Cardin looked apologetic, "sorry, you two must have been close."

Red brightened, "yeah we've been friends ever since the first grade." She laughed, "been inseparable ever since."

Red was surprised, this was definitely different from the Cardin seen in the show. He actually seemed like a nice guy, so why did he act like a bully? After taking a second to build up her resolve she decided to pop the question.

"Hey Cardin why do you abuse Faunus and act like such a bully? I mean talking to you here it's clear you weren't always like this," she asked.

Cardin flinched before looking at the fire, obviously having an inner conflict. Red waited patiently, they had plenty of time after all and she wanted Cardin to have his thoughts in order. Finally seemingly coming to a decision he began.

"How much do you know about the White Fang?" he asked.

Red frowned, "only that they were a protest group supporting Faunus rights that turned to terrorism when all their protests were ineffective," she answered.

Cardin nodded, "that's right, you see my family actually supported the old White Fang."

Red's jaw dropped, Cardin noticed the reaction and laughed. "I know hard to believe right," he said.

Red just nodded before asking, "I can understand not supporting the White Fang any more but why hate Faunus in general?"

Cardin's expression darkened considerably before taking a deep breath.

"It happened just after the White Fang leadership changed, people were overconfident and didn't understand the threat," he explained. "My mother decided to take my sister shopping for my birthday present, that day White Fang took everyone in the mall hostage."

Red felt bile rise in the back of her throat. "Let me guess, we don't negotiate with terrorists," she said, depressed.

Cardin gave a dark chuckle, "got it in one."

Red thought back to the cafeteria incident, 'no wonder he snapped so quickly' she realized guiltily. Still he shouldn't take it out on innocent people, Faunus or human.

"Cardin I'm really sorry for what I said in the cafeteria, if I'd known I wouldn't of said it," she apologized. "But treating people, human or Faunus, like crap is not the answer and you know it," she continued. "All you're doing is proving the White Fang right, you're helping them. You really want to help the people who did this to you?"

Cardin reared as if slapped, "I can't help it, when I see one of those Faunus I see all the happy times with my mom and sister that they stole away," he admitted.

Giving him an encouraging smile Red began, "Look Cardin, the way I see it every life is a pile of good and bad things and while the good things don't always soften the bad things, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

Red placed a hand on his shoulder, "remember the good times you had with them, but don't let the bad things taint their memories. If you can stop living in the past then maybe you'll be able to recreate those happy times with your friends now, after all it's called the present for a reason," Red finished.

Cardin looked down on the fire with a thoughtful expression on his face, Red gave him a friendly shove.

"Go get some rest and think about what I said, I'll take first watch," she said.

Nodding in thanks Cardin lay down and before long the sound of snoring filled the cave. Red headed towards the entrance to begin her shift. Looking at the puddles she saw what seemed to be Ruby smiling and giving her a thumbs up. Red blinked and it was gone, replaced with her own reflection. Shrugging it off to tiredness she began her shift.

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><p><strong>So what did you guys think? I decided that I didn't like that Cardin was instantly a bully in the show. Everyone becomes a bully for a reason, you don't wake up one day and say "I feel like making someone else's day crap." You have a reason either a complex one like Cardin's or as simple as wanting to fit in with 'cool kids.' So I gave Cardin motivation to be a dick. And that brings about the end of the Forever Falls arc, will the next one be cannon or something else? Who knows? Hope you enjoyed it.<strong>

**P.S Whoever recognised both the song and the quote you have made my day.**


	10. Damn you Murphy!

**Hey guys Drow79 here, for those wondering the song was The Parting Glass (Walking Dead Version) and the quote was the from the 11th doctor Van Gogh. Congrats to everyone who guessed right, anyway without further delays enjoy chapter 10.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did Penny would be a robot... oh wait...**

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><p>If you were to ask most students how many times they've be to the headmaster's office most would say none, or one if they were unruly. Still even the most troublesome of students would be hard pressed to beat four times within a week. After being picked up by the search party early in the morning Red and Cardin were immediately taken to Ozpin's office for a debriefing.<p>

"Ah Miss Rose, welcome back," greeted Ozpin.

"Thanks sir, good to be back," responded Red cheerfully.

Nodding he gestured for them to take a seat as he began pouring himself another cup of coffee. Red happily took her seat, followed by a very cautious Cardin. Ozpin walked over with two steaming cups, smiling as he handed one to Red.

"White and two sugars yes?" he asked, taking his seat.

Red nodded and they both began drinking in silence, with a very confused Cardin looking between them. Red looked over and just shrugged.

"This isn't my first time here," she explained.

Ozpin gave a soft chuckle, "indeed Miss Rose, I'm beginning to wonder if you're doing this intentionally. I must say I think these meetings have become a daily event for me."

Red smirked, "well what can I say, the free coffee just keeps calling me back," she joked.

Cardin just looked at them in bewilderment at the joking atmosphere between the two, while secretly pondering just how often Ruby came here. Placing his mug down Ozpin signalled that it was time to get serious.

"I want you both to tell me what happened in Forever Falls, I've already got the story from your teammates but I would like to hear it from your side," he said, looking at Cardin.

Cardin gulped and sat straighter under the attention. Attempting to speak only caused him to become a stuttering wreck. Seeing this Red decided to intervene, giving Ozpin a brief version of the events. However she kept out the conversation with Cardin knowing it was private as well as the prank realizing the trouble he could get in.

"I see, very strange that these Rapier Wasps singled you out. That is not normal behaviour is it Mr. Winchester?" he asked, once again turning to Cardin.

"Actually Headmaster that was my fault," lied Red.

Drawing shocked looks from both of them she continued, "While we were moving I accidently spilt some sap on me. Apparently the sap drives the wasps into a frenzy, I'll accept any punishment for putting my team in danger."

"Interesting, that conflicts with the confessions I got from the rest team CRDL," stated Ozpin with raised eyebrows. "Are you sure Miss Rose?" he asked, staring at her.

"Positive sir," she replied meeting his gaze.

Ozpin just sighed before taking another sip from his coffee.

"Do you have anything to add Mr. Winchester?" he asked.

Snapping out of his shock induced daze, Cardin shook his head. Seeing this Ozpin dismissed them both with a wave of his hand. Once the door closed behind them Cardin turned to Red.

"Seriously, thanks Red," he said, offering his fist.

"Anytime Cardin," she replied raising her own.

Smiling they gave each other a friendly fist bump and split up, heading back to their dorms. Red walked down the halls of Beacon hearing whispers follow her, 'apparently I just got some street cred' she thought giggling. Her good mood lasted until she reached her dorm, there were crashes and screaming sounding from inside as well as the smell of smoke. Red's face blanched, 'oh no they wouldn't, not after what happened last time.' Wrenching the door open she just sighed and face palmed 'apparently so.'

* * *

><p>After stopping the dorm debacle team RWBY decided to head for the cafeteria for their food. Much to the delight of the unfortunate dorm cleaners.<p>

"Come on Ruby, we said we were sorry besides we had Ren helping us this time," said Yang.

"Oh really, so where was he?" asked Red, the disbelief clear in her voice.

"Well he said he had to duck out for a few minutes," answered Yang with a sheepish grin.

Red looked at her with a deadpan expression, "you did all that damage in 'a few minutes?' Why am I not surprised."

As they made their way to the cafeteria Red stumbled, clutching her head in pain.

"_Come on sis, just one more story," said Ruby._

"_No Ruby it's bed time, don't make me get mom up here," scolded Yang mockingly._

"_Please just one more then I'll go to bed I promise," begged Ruby with her puppy dog eyes._

_Yang just sighed, "fine which one?" she asked._

_Ruby jumped up from the bed and ran to the book shelf, grabbing her favourite she handed it to her big sister._

"_Tell me another story about the Shepard," she said, settling in for the night._

_Yang chuckled, "it's getting late but okay, one more story."_

Red opened her eyes to see the rest of her team staring at her. All of them, even Weiss looked concerned as they steadied her.

"Are you feeling okay?" asked Yang.

Red nodded, "yeah just a headache. Come on lets go I don't know about you guys but I'm hungry."

Yang grabbed her shoulder stopping Red in her tracks. "Ruby that was no mere head ache, promise me if it happens again you'll go to the infirmary. It could be something serious."

"Alright Yang I promise," she lied.

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><p>Arriving at the cafeteria the team saw JNPR was already present at the usual spot. Grabbing their food they moved to join them, upon seeing Red their expression brightened. Quickly making room for them on the table, Ren apologized for taking so long to get back to them but was waved off by Yang. Nora wasted no time grilling Red on what happened in Forever Falls and how it was to spend the night in the wild. Red smiled and began her tale, exaggerating it to the point where even Prof. Port would be put to shame, with everyone seemingly hooked. However she was interrupted by the sound of a fist slamming on the table coming from Blake. Red looked over to her and noticed that Blake was glaring at something over her shoulder. Turning around she saw team CRDL had entered the cafeteria seemingly searching for someone, upon seeing Velvet they made their way over.<p>

"That's it I've had it with him," growled Blake standing up.

As Blake began to walk over to him Red frowned. Standing up she put her arm in front of Blake blocking her off, earning her shocked expressions from everyone.

"Wait, let's see where this goes first," ordered Red.

At first it looked like Blake was going to disobey but she just glared at Red before sitting back down. Everyone was silent as they stared at Red unable to believe what they just heard. Shaking their heads with various states of disappointment they turned to watch the scene unravelling before them. At first it seemed like usual with Velvet cowering before CRDL, however when none of them begin teasing her everyone got confused. Instead they just stared at her without speaking, the room grew quiet as people began to look at the scene with growing interest. Taking a deep breath Cardin stepped forward and, to the surprise of everyone but Red, he along with his team bowed before her.

"Velvet, I am truly sorry for how me and my team treated you before. I know we don't deserve it but I hope someday you can forgive us," he apologized before he and his team left the cafeteria.

Red chuckled as team JNPR's and the rest of RWBY's eyes bulged. All of them had expressions of disbelief but none more so then Blake, who turned to Red.

"That was an unexpected turn of events, you wouldn't have anything to do with it would you Ruby?" she asked.

Everyone at the table turned to Red at this comment. She just smirked knowingly and began to eat her food in silence. 'Good work Cardin and good luck.'

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><p>"The Vytal festival, oh this is absolutely wonderful," cheered Weiss.<p>

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss, it's kind of weirding me out," teased Red.

"How could you not smile," exclaimed Weiss, turning to Red in shock.

"A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world, there will be dances, parades, a tournament," she said giving a little twirl. "Oh the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking," finished Weiss.

Red just shook her head in amusement and began tuning out the rest of the conversation. Looking around she smiled, this was her first time in Vale and it was a lot busier a city then shown in the show. Every store had some form of banner or decoration to celebrate the festival and most were going all out. It reminded Red of when her family would drive around home, admiring the different Christmas decorations on people's houses. 'I guess some things are universal,' she thought with a chuckle. Realizing that it was too quiet she turned her attention back to her teammates, only to see all three of them staring at her in various states of confusion.

"Umm… is there something on my face?" she asked, confused.

"No it's just that we've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes," informed a smiling Blake.

"Right sorry about that my mind was just taking everything in, first time in Vale you know?" she commented.

They all frowned and nodded, the carefree atmosphere having been destroyed by that reminder. Blake and Yang didn't look that convinced however Weiss was too engaged with 'observing' the competition from Vacuo to notice. Leading them to the docks they came across a store surrounded by police tape. Red frowned and continued walking attempting to get her team to follow hoping they wouldn't see it, unfortunately Yang also noticed the store.

"Hey what happened here," she questioned walking up to a cop.

Red shook her head, "nothing can ever go according to plan," she mumbled, receiving a curious look from Blake.

The cop looked over at them, "robbery, second dust shop to be hit this week, this place is turning to a jungle."

Weiss scoffed, "looks like the White Fang is at it again, what an awful bunch of degenerates."

'Uh oh this isn't good.' Red turned to Blake and sure enough the Faunus was giving the heiress a glare cold enough to freeze hell over.

"What's your problem?" she demanded.

"My problem? I just don't care for the criminally insane," responded Weiss.

Realizing she had to end this now Red spoke up, "I wouldn't call them insane Weiss, after all the only reason they're like that now is because the peaceful protests were doing nothing. If anyone is to blame it would be us."

Receiving an angry look from Weiss and a grateful nod from Blake she continued, "anyway it's not like every Faunus is a criminal."

Just as she finished they heard shouting from across the docks, Red groaned knowing just who it was. As they ran to the source sure enough there was Sun hanging from a lamp post throwing bananas at the cops from before. Weiss turned to Red with a smug grin on her face.

"You were saying," she gloated.

'Damn you Murphy's Law,' however before she could respond to the heiress, Sun dropped off the lamp and sprinted past them, disappearing into the alleyway.

"Well Weiss you wanted to see the competition and there it goes," joked Yang.

"Quick we have to observe him," yelled Weiss before they all ran after Sun.

After a good solid 20 minutes of not finding that damn monkey Faunus, team RWBY sat on one of the park benches exhausted. Despite it all Red was having fun, right up until Yang began looking at her funny.

"You know Ruby it's strange, not many people know that the White Fang was originally a protest group plus how did you know Faunus had night vision when we only learnt it before your 'accident'?" asked Yang frowning.

At this point both Blake and Weiss turned to look at Red equally curious about this. 'Oh crap not good, do they suspect something? I need a distraction! God damn it Murphy!' Red gave a nervous laugh before spinning around and hitting something as hard as metal. Groaning Red accepted Yang's help up and turned to see what she hit, smiling when she recognized the ginger in front of her.

"Salutations," greeted Penny.

'There is a God,' thought Red gleefully. This was just what she needed, a perfect person to distract them.

"Salutations," she replied with a happy grin.

Her team looked between the two of them completely confused, especially since Penny had yet to get off the ground.

"Are you… okay?" asked Yang hesitantly.

"I'm wonderful thank you for asking," replied Penny.

"Do you… want to get up?" asked Yang again.

Penny seemed to consider it before responding, "Yes."

Leaping up from the ground she turned to face team RWBY, everyone but Red taking a couple of steps back.

"My name is Penny it's a pleasure to meet you," she said, jerkily.

"A pleasure to meet you Penny, the white one is Weiss, black one Blake and yellow one is Yang. And my name is … Ruby," introduced Red, flinching slightly on the last one.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," repeated Penny.

"Umm… you already said that," stated Weiss.

Seeing everyone's attention focused on Penny, Red began to sneak away before they started questioning her again. Walking down the streets of Vale was interesting, so much like home yet so different at the same time. Red came to a stop in front of a store she recognized, the Dust til Dawn. Entering the shop she immediately walked over to the magazine rack, intending to pull out one on books, games, movies, anything that might be interesting. Instead she herself drawn to 'Weapon Makers the finest of them all,' even more surprising was that she could actually understand everything and was even actively rating the weapons themselves. After a good solid hour of none stop reading and rating Red felt her scroll vibrate. Looking down she saw it was a message from Yang, '_Get back to dorm ASAP EMERGENCY._' Red cursed she had forgotten all about Blake, racing back to Beacon she began to panic wondering what to do next.

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><p><strong>There you go hope you liked it. I decided that I wanted to tie up the Cardin arc this chapter, I don't really like leaving loose ends. Also Ren is damn near impossible to write for I tried multiple times but eventually just gave up. Looking back through the chapters I realized this was a recurring theme, I have yet to give him any dialogue whatsoever. Anyway sorry if this chapter isn't that good but this episode was my least favourite and I struggled to get through it. <strong>


	11. Showdown at the Shipyards

**Okay guys hope you enjoy the volume 1 finale of A Rose By Any Other Name. Unfortunately I'm going to have to take a little break from writing in order to finalise my ideas, after all there's an entire semester break between Volume 1 and 2, lots of time for non canon stories. Also am going to go back and edit the previous chapters, you won't need to reread them or anything they will just be grammar editing. You guys have been kind but I know all of them need it, even this one probably does. Anyway without further ado enjoy chapter 11.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did Faunus and humans would have switched roles.**

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><p>Red ran the through the streets of Vale as fast as her semblance could carry her, the buildings beginning blur. 'Ok I can still salvage this, the only ways off Beacon are by airship or through Emerald Forest. She wouldn't have gone through the forest which means I might still catch her at the airship terminal if I hurry.' Arriving at the terminal, after nearly collapsing from exhaustion, Red scanned the crowd and sure enough there was Blake walking with Sun her bow back on her head. Talking a deep breath she walked over to them, 'acting skills don't fail me now.'<p>

"Blake! What are you doing out at this time?" she called.

Both Faunus jumped and turned to see Red waving as she walked over. Sun looked ready to bolt but Blake grabbed his arm, giving him a stern look.

"I could ask you the same question Ruby," she responded coldly.

"Well I kind of got side tracked by a weapons store while exploring Vale," said Red, giving her best innocent expression.

"I see well if you'll excuse us," said Blake, dragging Sun along with her.

Red sighed, 'looks like I've got no choice then. This will either get them talking or sprinting as far away as possible.' Running up to Blake she grabbed the bow off her head and jumped back. Blake looked at her with a shocked expression that quickly dissolved into one of anger.

"Give me the bow Ruby," she growled.

Red shook her head, "not until you explain what's going on."

Blake's expression turned sombre, "you wouldn't understand."

Red gave her a stern look, "you want to prove that the White Fang aren't behind the recent string of dust robberies, judging by the fact that you're a Faunus who got into Beacon without going to training school I can assume that you're a former member as well. So how'd I do?" she said, her expression unchanged.

Both of them looked at her in shock, neither saying a word. Blake began to slowly reach for Gambol Shroud on her back, while Sun was reaching for Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. Red looked at both of them and sighed.

"Blake what do you hope to accomplish with this, say you're right and the White Fang aren't to blame what do you have to show for it? A team… no friends who you've now alienated because you couldn't trust them," she said sadly.

Red expected Blake to give up at this point or at least listen to reason, instead she got a slap across the face for her troubles. She looked at Blake and immediately backed away, the look she was giving could only be described as murderous rage.

"How dare you! You fucking hypocrite!" screamed Blake. "You're the one who's been alienating us, hiding things from us with this 'amnesia' nonsense, did you really think we wouldn't notice huh?"

Red was stunned at this outburst, they had noticed, probably since the first discussion they'd had back in the dorms. Seeing Red completely preoccupied with this revelation Blake quickly grabbed her bow and ran down the streets Sun following close behind. Red saw them leave but couldn't find it in her to chase them, Blake's words had hit closer to home then she may have liked. Realizing this was a failure she headed back to Beacon already pondering whether or not to tell the others about this encounter.

* * *

><p>Team RWBY was falling apart and Yang knew it. Just when things were beginning to return to normal, Ruby had been opening up again, Weiss had become tolerable, Blake was actually socializing with them and the general atmosphere of enjoyment had returned to the two teams. Then it started going wrong fast, first Blake and Weiss had got into a fight resulting in finding out that Blake was a Faunus and a former member of the White Fang at that. Then said Faunus had run off and had yet to return, meanwhile Weiss was ready to report her to the cops. Then Ruby had finally returned but she hadn't said anything and just cried herself to sleep that night. That hit both Weiss and Yang most, seeing the cheerful smile and mischievous smirk they had grown accustom to over the past few days wiped clean from her face. Nothing they tried could get Ruby out of her depression, even a plate of freshly baked cookies got no reaction. Eventually giving up they decided to head out to find Blake whom still hadn't returned for two days, but not before asking Jaune to keep an eye on Ruby.<p>

"Blake! Blake! Where are you?" called Yang.

Weiss just walked along side not even bothering to call. Yang turned to her glaring.

"Weiss you're not helping," she scolded.

"Oh you know who might be able to help? The police," snipped Weiss.

"Weiss," growled Yang with crossed arms.

"It was just an idea," said Weiss.

Yang just sighed, "Weiss I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions."

"I think when we hear it you'll realize I was right," responded Weiss.

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today" came a familiar voice from behind them.

Both of them jumped, there standing behind them was Penny. Weiss and Yang shared a glance, each daring the other to go first, sighing Yang gave in first.

"Hey Penny," she greeted halfheartedly.

"Hey guys, what are you up to?" asked Penny.

"We're looking for our friend Blake," answered Yang.

"Oh you mean the Faunus girl, shame she was a member of the White Fang, she seemed so nice," mused Penny.

Yang and Weiss looked at each other in surprise, "wait how did you know she was in the White Fang?" asked Weiss.

"Oh I overheard the conversation between Ruby and Blake two nights ago," she answered.

"Wait Blake told Ruby she was in the White Fang?" asked Yang.

'That would explain why she's so depressed, what did Blake say to her? Damn it once we find her I'll give her the beating of a lifetime,' thought Yang clenching her fist.

"Oh no, Ruby already knew, in fact I think Blake was in shock about how much she knew," explain Penny.

That caught their attention, it was possible that Ruby had guessed her Faunus heritage but there was no way she could have known about the White Fang. 'Ruby this is getting out of hand, how many more secrets are you hiding from us,' thought Yang angrily. Grabbing Weiss she began running back to Beacon dragging the heiress along as if she weighed nothing.

"Thanks for the help Penny but we have to go, I've got some questions for my little sister."

* * *

><p>Red knew she had to get out, the fresh air would do her some good. Sneaking past a sleeping Jaune she made her way onto the roof. As she was looking up at the sky Red sighed hearing footsteps approaching her.<p>

"Guys for the last time I just want to be left alone," she snapped.

"I see that is a shame, in my experience it is better to have someone to talk to at times like this," came a familiar voice.

Red quickly stood up, "Headmaster Ozpin, I'm sorry sir I didn't know it was you," she apologized.

Ozpin waved it off, "it's quite alright Miss Rose, now tell me what's wrong."

Red was silent as she sat back down, gathering her thoughts. "Do you ever wonder why we're here? I mean was it chance that you became what you are or was it all part of some greater plan? And if so what if someone deviated from that plan?" asked a depressed Red.

Ozpin turned to look at her, "I would think that person did so with the best intentions at heart," he replied.

Red began chuckling darkly, "best intentions huh? Well the road to hell is paved with good intentions," she scoffed.

Ozpin sat down beside her, "Ruby I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong, please let me," he said.

Upon hearing this Red deflated, "I… I messed up, I thought I was helping someone but I only ended up making it worse. I've always had a plan but now… I just don't know what to do," she confessed.

Ozpin got up from the ground and looked out over Beacon, "the heart is a strange thing, so strong and yet so fragile. Ruby I've made more mistakes then most people on Remnant and you know what I've found, you should listen to your heart it will rarely lead you astray."

"But what if I mess up again?" she asked.

Ozpin turned and offered her a hand, "what is worse to do something and regret it or to regret not doing it at all?" he replied.

Red looked at the offered hand and for the first time in two days a smile spread across her face. Accepting the help up she thanked Ozpin and walked back to the dorm bathroom, getting changed into her combat gear. Hearing angry voices coming from the dorm bedroom area she hesitated having last minute doubts. How would she explain what she knew and how will they react? Then she felt something behind her, turning she saw her own reflection in the mirror. Only it was smiling an innocent smile, not one of her mischievous smirks and her silver eyes were filled encouragement, suddenly a loud bang came from the door. Red jumped and walked over to it, taking one last look behind her showed only her normal reflection. Red frowned before taking deep breath and opening the door to a very pissed Yang.

"Ruby you've got some explaining to do," growled the blonde.

"Later Yang, I know where Blake is and she's in trouble," she said, causing Yang and Weiss to look at her in surprise.

* * *

><p>The remnants of team RWBY raced through the streets of Vale heading towards the docks. After Red had explained the area they were looking for Weiss had immediately spoke up giving them the exact location. They picked up speed after hearing an explosion and seeing smoke rising from the shipyards, all doubt removed from their minds.<p>

Red frowned, "ok listen here's the plan, I'll distract Roman while you guys deal with his henchmen. They have Bullheads so you'll need to be careful, got it?" she asked, seriously.

They both nodded in understanding, keeping their questions about how she knew Roman would be there to themselves, although Yang didn't look too pleased about the plan. Red wasn't surprised not even she knew how she was supposed to deal with Roman, with her team she might be able to beat him but by herself she would be hard pressed just trying to stay alive. The trio arrived just in time to see Roman aiming his cane at Sun.

"Hey," called Red, unsheathing Crescent Rose.

Roman turned to look at them with a shit eating grin, "oh hello Red, isn't it past your bed time?"

She just growled at him before semblancing to his side with Crescent Rose coming in for an overhead sweep. Romans eyes widen and he quickly blocked the strike with his cane, causing the two weapons to lock together.

"Sun go. Now! Help the others," she ordered the monkey Faunus, her eyes never leaving Roman's.

Snapping out of his daze Sun nodded before joining the rest of team RWBY in dealing with the White Fang grunts. Seeing Roman's calculating eyes following the Faunus she frowned, realizing they needed to fight without the distractions to help him. Taking one hand off her scythe she grabbed his shirt and semblanced to the other end of the dock. To his credit Roman was only briefly disorientated before he took advantage of situation by delivering a swift punch to her face. Red let go of his shirt, stumbling from the force of the blow. Shaking it off she saw Roman aiming his cane at her, unable to dive to the side in time she fired her scythe into the ground. Flying through the air she landed on top of one of the many shipping containers scattered around the docks. Roman looked up at her clapping looking mildly amused.

"Well Red I'll give that a 9/10, unfortunately you didn't quite stick the landing," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Red said nothing instead she just glared at him with barely contained anger, causing his smug smile to drop slightly. Jumping down she charged the criminal feinting with Crescent Rose, smiling as he took the bait. Blocking the scythe with his cane Roman was unprepared for the knee to his stomach, coughing he backed away trying to regain his balance. Seeing an opening Red disappeared in a flash rose petals before unloading an entire clip into Roman from behind. He groaned and staggered as he turned to face Red, his face now wiped clean of any smugness for the first time. Slowly they began circling each other, neither breaking eye contact.

"Who are you? You're not the same girl I met before," asked Roman, without a trace of his usual condescending tone.

Red smirked, "oh and what makes you say that?" she asked.

Roman frowned, "you look like her, sound like her, hell you even fight like her. However you're aura is slightly different, a small difference that anyone who wasn't looking for it wouldn't notice. But your strikes are what give you away the most," he said.

"My strikes, how so you said I fight just like her?" asked Red confused, before closing her mouth realizing what she just said.

Unfortunately it seemed that Roman had also realized this and smirked, "I mean your instincts, when I fought our friend there was no killing intent behind the blows. But with you I can feel it behind every strike, when you attack you go for the kill," explained the criminal.

Suddenly there came a loud explosion from behind them, briefly looking back showed three of the four Bullheads had exploded. Red was mildly confused before she saw the burnt out remains of a dust shipping container. The last Bullhead quickly flew over to the two of them, forcing Red to dive behind cover least she be hit with the machine gun. Roman quickly ran over and jumped in, turning to look at Red once more.

"Well Red I must say this has been a very enlightening night, you've peaked my interest and I'm sure my employers will be interested as well," called Roman as the Bullhead took off.

Red just shook her head and collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

><p><em>It was hot, Ruby could feel the heat from here, she knew she should feel something at this sight but instead there was only a numbness. Walking up it she placed her hands on the door, reliving the memories they'd shared here. Sighing she walked back to Yang and Uncle Qrow, both whom carried lit torches. <em>

"_Ruby are you sure you want to do this?" asked Yang._

_Ruby nodded before grabbing the torch off Qrow and throwing it into the house. Yang looked conflicted but with a nod from Qrow she too threw her torch in. The trio stood watching as the house began to go up in flames, Qrow was frowning and Yang was crying. Ruby just looked on with a blank expression as the house she'd spent her whole childhood in, the home of Summer Rose burnt to the ground._

Red opened her eyes to see the night sky above her. Sitting up she saw the docks were crawling with cops and that her teammates as well as Sun had gathered around a bunch of crates. Walking over Red caught the last of the conversation between Weiss and Blake.

"… next time something this big comes up you'll come to your teammates and not some… someone else," lectured Weiss.

Blake looked around seeing her smiling teammates, her eyes resting on Red as a very distinctive Ruby smile spread across her face. Blake wiped the tears from her face and nodded.

"Of course," she replied sincerely.

Red looked around feeling an innocent child-like joy welling up inside her. Looking up at the star lit night she felt, for the first time like she was home.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" she cheered.

Red's eyes widened and she quickly cupped her hands over her mouth, causing everyone to burst out laughing. 'Where did that come from?' she thought confused. In her confusion however she failed to notice a certain blonde was not joining in the laughter and instead looking at her with suspicion.

* * *

><p><strong>Sneak peak of the next chapter: Synchronized Souls<strong>

Red didn't think, if she had then she might have come up with a way to talk her way out of this. Instead she followed her instincts that had saved humans for many years and ran. Red began sweating feeling the heat rising behind her as her pursuer closed the distance between them.

"Get back here you imposter!" screamed her pursuer.

* * *

><p><strong>Annnnddddd CUT! Alright that's a wrap folks! Finally get to write for Roman! I love his lines in the show, unfortunately I didn't really get a chance to do many in this chapter. Anyway since it might be awhile until I update again I wanted to give you guys a sneak peak at the next chapter, yes I am that mean. Hope you guys liked this chapter and thanks to everyone who has supported the story you guys are great.<strong>


	12. Synchronized Souls

**Yang: Guess who's back!**

**Hey guys so I just watched the newest episode and I've now got a new favourite. As for Yang's abilities well from the way Ruby explained it that shouldn't be a problem, I can work with it and who is this Neo character? My interest has been peaked RT. Also don't expect every chapter to be this long I'm aiming for 2000-3000 words usually but when you have no internet for two days you find other things to fight off boredom. **

**I don't own RWBY, I've got no complaints this week... good job RT.**

* * *

><p>Red glared at her opponents trying to figure out her next move, wondering who the biggest threat was. She frowned, this was the last round and her hand wasn't the best plus each of them had been very quiet and had been keeping their own cards close to their chest. Still she had a good feeling about her next move, smiling she pushed all her chips onto the table.<p>

"I'm going all in," she announced, much to their surprise.

"Ruby are you sure that's wise?" asked Ren confused.

"Yeah Ruby, if you lose all your chips you're out of the game," informed Jaune.

"I knew we shouldn't have let you play," whined Weiss.

Red looked over at Weiss, keeping her poker face up. "Well then I guess you have nothing to worry about, do you Ice Queen?" she teased.

Weiss to her credit didn't take the bait and began looking at Red with her own poker face. After a brief stare down Weiss broke eye contact and placed her cards on the table.

"I fold," came her reply.

Both the males upon seeing the Schnee heiress folding, decided to follow suite and cut their losses. Red smiled, she had been getting these feelings for the entire game and each one had been right so far. However she had only just decided to test it now, earning her a large amount of chips and the ire of her white haired teammate.

"Wait! Ruby what was your hand?" asked Weiss interested.

Giving a knowing smirk Red lay her cards on the table, much to the shock of her friends. Her hand held a pair of tens and nothing else helpful. All of them turned to Red in disbelief, Weiss in particular looked like she was ready to strangle her. 'Hmm she must have had a good hand,' she thought amused.

"Umm Ruby…" began Jaune, "you do know what one pair of tens is worth right?"

"Yep," replied Red, popping the _p_ sound.

"I also know what a bluff is, isn't that right Weiss?" she asked, smirking at the seething heiress.

Ren frowned, "that was a very risky bluff, if even one of us hadn't folded you would have been out of the game," he commented.

"Yeah but I knew if I could convince Weiss, who is the most experienced at the game, to fold you two would as well," replied Red.

The three of them paused as Red began shuffling the deck, looking up she noticed they were staring at her with impressed expressions, even Weiss had a grudging respect in her eyes. Dealing out the cards they got ready for round two, she smiled as the feelings returned and by the end of the game all three of them had lost all their chips to Red.

"So anyone up for another game?" asked an amused Red.

* * *

><p>Yang and Blake were walking down the halls of Beacon, to any casual observer it would look like the usual. However to any that took their time they would think it strange that the blonde brawler wasn't with her sister. The two were rarely seen apart from each other and even rarer after Ruby's accident during the duel between Jaune and Cardin. They would also notice that Blake was more being dragged by her partner rather than walking and judging from her expression was not very happy about it. Arriving at their dorm Yang shut the door and let go of Blake who immediately began rubbing her wrists and took a seat on her bed.<p>

"Where's Ruby?" questioned Yang.

Blake glared at her, "she's off playing poker with Weiss," she answered.

"Good then she won't interrupt us. Blake what did you and Ruby talk about the night you ran away?" asked Yang, turning to look Blake in the eye.

The Faunus' eyes widen and a frown grew on her face, "sorry Yang I'm afraid that's private."

Yang glared at Blake, her eyes flashing red for an instant. "Blake I'll cut to the chase here, is it true that she already knew about you being a Faunus and the White Fang?"

Blake meet her furious gaze with an ice cold one of her own. "I don't know what you're talking about," lied the Faunus.

Yang dropped her glare with a sigh. "Did we ever tell you how we knew where to find you that night on the docks?" she asked.

Surprised by the change in topics Blake just shook her head, seeing this Yang began.

"Weiss and I were looking for you when we came across our old friend Penny. You can bet we were surprised when she not only knew you were a Faunus but also a former member of the White Fang. When we asked about it she said that she overheard your conversation with Ruby that night," she said, giving Blake an accusing look.

For her part the Faunus didn't react and instead asked, "You'd trust Penny over your own sister?"

"Normally no," replied Yang. "But when we arrived back to question Ruby she said that she knows where you are, not only that but she knew that Roman would be there as well as the White Fang. In fact she knew exactly what we'd be facing including those Bullheads," informed Yang.

Blake looked shocked at this latest bit of information, "but there's no way Ruby could have known that."

"Exactly there is no way 'Ruby' could have known that, so that begs the question: who have we been spending the past week with?" asked Yang.

Blake looked up at Yang ready to tell her off for saying such a stupid joke, but stopped seeing the blonde's serious expression.

"You serious?" she asked, in disbelief.

Yang's expression softened and she sat down on Weiss's bed deep in thought. "Remember what I said during our discussion?" she asked.

"_Well if you think so Yang I'll believe it, after all she is your sister," replied a shocked Weiss._

"_Is she?" questioned a depressed Yang, "honestly sometimes it feels like I'm talking to a stranger wearing my sister's skin."_

Blake frowned at the memory, "Yang don't you think you're overreacting just a bit? After all losing your memories could change a person."

"Don't give me that amnesia crap! We both know that it's a load of B.S," raged Yang.

"So how do you explain those memory flashes she mentioned?" asked Blake with raised eyebrows.

For the first time in the conversation Yang looked stumped, she hadn't thought of that and all the memories were real she could verify that herself. Seeing her partner begin to calm down Blake decided to offer a compromise.

"Look if you feel that strongly about this then we'll go to the Headmaster about this tomorrow okay? Until then promise that you won't confront Ruby about this, got it?" offered Blake.

Yang didn't respond and instead just got up and left the room without a word, clearly deep in thought. Blake sighed praying that Yang be careful, this was a delicate situation and team RWBY had only just started getting back together again. If this wasn't done right it could destroy team RWBY completely, Blake could only hope Yang knew that.

* * *

><p>Red smiled as she walked down the halls of Beacon, a spring in her step. After winning her 6th poker game in a row they had decided to call it quits for the day. The result, she now had enough cafeteria coupons to buy a lifetime supply of cookies and she intended to cash in. As they walked back to their dorms the group ran into Yang who seemed very distant. Sharing a glance between them Red walked up to the blonde and grabbed her on the shoulder.<p>

"Hey sis, you okay?" she asked, concerned.

At the sound of her voice Yang immediately snapped out of her stupor. The blonde then looked at her with one of her rare serious expressions.

"Ruby can we talk? It's important," asked Yang, looking her in the eyes.

'She rarely calls Ruby by her name, this must be serious,' realized Red. Nodding she turned to face the rest of the poker group.

"You guys go on ahead, Yang and I will catch up when we're done here," she said.

Jaune and Ren nodded and continued on their way to the dorms, Weiss looked conflicted and a little concerned but she to left. Upon seeing the others leave Yang grabbed Red's hand, causing her to flinch in pain from her grip, and dragged her into a nearby classroom. Throughout it all a familiar bad feeling began to spread throughout her bones, placing her body on high alert. Red tried to ignore her heart's increased speed and had to constantly keep her hands from reaching for Crescent Rose.

_SLAM!_

Red jumped as Yang slammed the door shut, her heart threatening to burst from her chest. 'What's going on it's only Yang, why am I reacting like this?' she thought confused. Yang was just standing in front of the door observing her.

"You know 'Ruby' it's very interesting," commented Yang. "I found out that you already knew about Blake's past, then you already knew that Torchwick and his goons were at the docks, as well as exactly what they were using. Secondly you knew that Faunus have night vision, you have a far greater control of your semblance and finally your aura is different," she stated, her hair beginning to glow.

_CHACK CHACK_

Red stepped back as Yang loaded Ember Celica with red eyes and glowing hair.

"I'll be straight here, you're not Ruby. Who are you and what have you done with my sister?!" demanded Yang advancing.

Red didn't think, if she had then she might have come up with a way to talk her way out of this. Instead she followed the instincts that had saved humans for many years and just ran. Seeing Yang blocking the door Red dived out the window into the hallways before sprinting to get as far away from the blonde as possible. Red began sweating, feeling the heat rising behind her as the blonde closed the distance between them.

"Get back here you imposter!" screamed her pursuer.

Red unfortunately couldn't use her semblance in these enclosed hallways, if she hit the wall at that speed she'd be likely to break her neck aura or no aura. Yang knew it to, taking a quick glance behind her showed the said blonde using her gauntlets to rapidly close the distance between the two of them. Red was so focused on Yang she failed to notice what was in front of her and collided with something hard, causing them both to topple. Quickly getting up she saw that she was surrounded by team CRDL and had crashed into Cardin, hearing the brawler getting closer she didn't even apologized before continuing to flee for her life. Crashing through one of the doors, not even waiting to open it, Red realized she was as good as dead. The room was Prof. Port's classroom which had only one way in and one way out, turning back to the door Red's heart sank. There casually strolling into the rapidly warming room was a very pissed Yang, whom then gave a lightning quick right hook to the face before she could even grab Crescent Rose. Stunned Red could only watch as Yang grabbed her by the throat and brought her fist up, closing her eyes Red awaited the finishing blow.

"You know that's not very nice."

* * *

><p>Cardin was having a good day all things considered, he and his team had just gotten back from a successful mission and we're heading to the cafeteria to celebrate. As they were joking with each other Cardin frowned hearing something approaching from behind them. Suddenly something collided with him knocking them both over and causing the wind to be knocked out of him. Angrily he looked down to see what hit him ready to give them a piece of his mind, only to stop seeing Ruby laying on top of him. However before he could say anything she looked behind her before taking off like a speeding bullet, her sister following close behind. Team CRDL looked at each other in confusion as Dove helped Cardin up.<p>

"What was that? A prank gone wrong?" asked Sky.

The others shrugged assuming that was most likely the correct answer, only Cardin frowned. The expression on Yang's face wasn't one that could be caused by a simple prank. That was the expression of true rage and anger he'd seen it before, just after his sister died. Then there was Red's face when she saw Yang, it was fear. Not the childish fear of being caught for doing something wrong but a true fear, one that only showed when your life was honestly in danger.

His face hardening Cardin ran after them calling back to his teammates, "you guys go celebrate without me I'll be there shortly."

As Cardin raced after the two huntresses he grew concerned, what could cause Yang Xiao Long of all people to want to hurt her little sister Ruby? Everyone knew that she was more protective of her younger sister then she was of her hair. Continuing after them he had just come through the broken door to see the blonde punch her sister in the face, with enough force to send her flying into the chairs. Cardin was completely shocked at this sight however he snapped out of it seeing Yang grab her sister by the throat, Ember Celica raised for the final blow. Eyes widening he quickly ran over and grabbed Yang's arm halting her punch.

"You know that's not very nice," he commented.

Before Yang could react he threw an aura infused punch of his own into the back of the brawler's head, sending her crashing into the wall. Cardin ran over to Ruby who was on the floor gasping for breath.

"Come on," he said hoisting her up. "Knowing your sister that won't keep her down for long," grabbing Ruby they ran out of the room.

"Mind telling me why your sister wants your head," asked Cardin as they ran.

Ruby just shook her head, "I need to get out of Beacon, right now."

Cardin stumbled and looked at her in surprise, seeing her fearful expression he nodded.

"I know a way," he said.

* * *

><p>Yang woke up to a massive headache, frowning she tried to piece together what'd just happened. 'I had that imposter cornered and beaten then I heard a familiar voice…' her eyes instantly turned red. 'Cardin! That bastard when I get my hands on him he can kiss his family lineage goodbye.' Yang knew she'd screwed up and now the imposter could be anywhere in the school plotting their escape. She sighed, she was going to have to inform the rest of the team what had happened, they were not going to be happy.<p>

Running back to the dorms she saw Blake and Weiss sitting on their beds, quickly informing them of what happened she received an extremely violent tongue lashing from Blake while Weiss seemed to just be in shock.

"Damn it Yang! This is why I said not to confront her about it," screamed Blake.

Blake looked ready to continue her verbal abuse but was interrupted by Weiss. "Look what's done is done, right now we should focus on catching her and that means going to the Headmaster."

Receiving nods from her two teammates they all ran to Ozpin's office, hoping they were not too late.

* * *

><p>There were few times that Ozpin could say he ever got angry, being the headmaster of Beacon meant he needed to keep a tight rein on his emotions. However there were times where he was sorely tempted to lash out and vent his frustration. As he listen to Yang's explanation of the events he began to rub his temples attempting to calm his rising temper.<p>

"So let me get this straight Miss Xiao Long, you attacked your sister on the presumption that she wasn't your sister. Then preceded to damage numerous school property and to top it all off she is now running around the school trying to escape," he summarized.

Yang didn't flinch under his gaze and instead met it with one of her own, "with all due respect headmaster I know that wasn't my sister," replied Yang.

Ozpin just sighed and took out his scroll, "Glynda I need you to suspend travel to and from Beacon effective immediately, nothing comes in nothing goes out. Also turn on the GPS tracking in Miss Rose's scroll."

"Of course Headmaster," came the reply from the scroll.

Ozpin turned to look at Yang, "Miss Xiao Long you have no idea what you have just set into motion, hopefully we can salvage this before it's too late."

* * *

><p>"Cardin where are we going?" asked Red.<p>

Cardin stopped walking and turned to look at her, "the only way off this academy is through the airships but they will be monitored so we can't use that method," he informed her.

Seeing her hopeless expression he smiled, "but I happen to know another way off this place that's not monitored, not very comfortable though."

Red looked up at him in surprise, "I don't care anything that gets me away from here is good enough for me," she exclaimed.

Nodding Cardin led the two of them into the locker room. Red looked around confused before turning to Cardin who had opened his locker and was in the process of empting it out. Once he was finished he gestured for her to get in.

Seeing her confused expression he explained, "these lockers are rocket propelled Red, remember we learnt about them the first day after initiation."

A smile grew on Red's face, "Cardin you're a genius!"

He smiled before holding out his hand, "one more thing, give me your scroll they can track you with it and if you're serious about getting out of Beacon that will need to be fixed."

Red nodded and handed him her scroll, "alright the timer is set to go off ten minutes after the door closes that should give them enough time to focus on me and let you attract less attention," he instructed.

As Red got into the locker as turned to face him again, "seriously Cardin thanks, I owe you one," she said sincerely.

"No problem we're friends aren't we? Just be careful out there Little Red," he said smirking.

Closing the locker door Cardin walked out of the room, leaving an anxious Red to await her fate.

* * *

><p>"Headmaster, Miss Rose's signal is currently moving towards the RWBY dorms," informed Glynda.<p>

Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief, they could still fix this before it got out of hand. He turned to the rest of team RWBY.

"You are to collect your teammate and bring her here, tell her I wish to speak to her about Earth, she will know what I mean," he ordered them.

As they ran back towards their dorm Ozpin sighed, 'another crisis averted, thank God,' he thought relieved. Yet he couldn't escape the feeling that this wasn't over, that there was something he had overlooked.

Suddenly his scroll began to vibrate, looking down he saw it was from Weiss. Ignoring the growing feeling up unrest he answered it.

"Headmaster we have a problem, Ruby isn't here instead it's Cardin, he has Ruby's scroll," informed Weiss.

Ozpin froze, "Miss Schnee bring him to my office immediately and get Miss Xiao Long and Miss Belladonna to bring team JNPR as well. I think it's time for some answers," he instructed them.

"Yes Headmaster," came the reply.

* * *

><p>Red braced herself as she heard a rumbling coming from beneath her. Not five seconds later she was extremely grateful she did so as the locker suddenly shot skywards, with her screaming along the way. She was in the air screaming for what seemed like years but in reality was probably only minutes until finally the locker crashed into the ground. The impact would most likely have knocked her out if not for her aura, groaning she opened the locker door and stepped outside and began to kiss the ground. Looking around she noticed that she had landed just outside Vale, seeing no other option she began walking towards the city hoping to reach it before it got dark.<p>

* * *

><p>Ozpin's office was never meant to have many people present at the same time and it showed, with both the remainder of team RWBY as well as JNPR and Cardin present.<p>

Ozpin glared at Cardin, "Mr. Winchester if you know the location of Miss Rose it is in both of your best interests to tell me."

Cardin just stood there seemingly unphased by the level of hostility in the room coming from both Ozpin and Yang.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know where she is, in fact I didn't even know she was missing," he replied.

Yang grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "that's bullshit and you know it!" she screamed.

Cardin didn't even seemed phased as he just turned to look back at Ozpin. "Am I done here?" he asked, bored.

Ozpin just sighed and dismissed him, much to Yang's anger. Once the door shut she rounded on the headmaster her hair glowing.

"He's obviously lying why did you let him go!" demanded Yang.

"Because Miss Xiao Long nothing we could have said would have gotten him to talk, for better or worse he is completely loyal to Miss Rose," replied Ozpin, much to everyone's shock.

This was Cardin after all who'd never done anything that wasn't for his own benefit and certainly wouldn't show this kind of commitment to protect someone. Everyone except Ozpin jumped at the sound of his scroll going off, sighing the headmaster answered it, already suspecting the cause for the call.

"Headmaster I thought you'd like to know that one of the lockers was launched during the lockdown," informed Glynda.

"It was Mr. Winchester's wasn't it?" asked Ozpin, making everyone's eyes go wide.

"Yes sir," she replied.

Ozpin gave another sigh, this day was turning out to be one of the worst he'd had in a long time. "Were you able to track its descent?" he asked, not very hopeful.

"Unfortunately not sir, we were too busy tracking Miss Rose's signal and maintaining the lockdown," answered Glynda.

"We can remove the lockdown Glynda, it's safe to assume that Miss Rose is no longer on school grounds," he ordered before hanging up. "Very clever Mr. Winchester, very clever," he muttered, impressed.

Looking up he noticed the confused expressions on their faces, getting up he poured himself another cup of coffee.

"I suppose you all deserve answers about Ruby," began Ozpin as he sat back down.

Taking a sip of coffee he placed the mug down and leaned across his desk, "tell me have any of you heard of the Synchronized Souls theory?" he asked.

Six of them all shook their heads with confused expressions, only Pyrrha seemed to recognize the name.

"It's a hypothetical theory to do with the specific wavelengths of an individual's aura," she said.

Ozpin nodded, "correct Miss Nikos, the theory itself is about the effects that could happen when two individuals with the same aura wavelengths meet. As we know aura is the manifestation of our souls so if two people meet that had the same aura their souls would have to be related in some way, we call these souls Synchronized."

"Now keep in mind this is all theory, as Synchronized Souls have never been proven to exist, until now," reminded Ozpin. "As I understand it, this occurred during Miss Rose's accident during the sparing session, her aura shouldn't have been strong enough to heal her injures and yet the very next day she was up and about as if nothing had ever happened."

"My theory is that both of the souls were in danger of dying at the same time and so each aura sought out the other, trying to consume it to save their hosts. It would seem that Miss Rose's was the more dominant of the two most likely due to her aura being unlocked while her compatriot's was not," explained Ozpin.

"As you are aware aura is not just the manifestation of our souls, they are our souls itself. So in a sense by consuming the aura it absorbed their very soul as well," he continued.

"But Headmaster that's not possible, no two people on Remnant have the same aura," argued Pyrrha.

"Exactly, no two people on Remnant have the same aura however our friend is not from Remnant," he answered.

All of teams RWBY's and JNPR's jaws dropped open at this news. Ozpin got up from his chair and brought something up with his scroll before handing it to them.

"This is a comparison of Miss Rose's aura levels when she just joined Beacon and with her latest sparing session with Miss Xiao Long," he informed them.

Looking down at the scroll both teams were in shock, her aura levels had nearly doubled since the first measurement. There was silence between them as each tried and failed to come up with a logical conclusion for the sudden increase, coughing Ozpin broke the silence and took his scroll back from them.

"What I'm about to tell you is not to leave this room," he ordered.

Receiving nods of understanding from the students he reached into his desk and placed a blue green orb on the table.

"Throughout the history of Remnants there have been unique individuals whose aura was completely different from anything we knew before. Each of these individuals had an instinctive mastery of the aura and semblance that could rival any aura master we know today," informed Ozpin.

'So that's why she could use Ruby's semblance like that,' thought Yang with a frown, remembering their sparing session. Still none of them could have been prepared for the bombshell Ozpin was about to drop on them.

"What has been kept a secret, is that each of these individuals came from another world known only as the 'Earth'," he concluded, holding up the orb.

Yang walked up to the headmaster with glowing hair, "how long have you known?" she asked furious.

"I suspected it when you first brought her to my office, I'd recognize that Earth aura signature anywhere. But I didn't confirm it until she was sent to my office for fighting Mr. Winchester," he confessed.

"Hold on headmaster, didn't you just say they had the same aura, how could you tell the difference?" asked a confused Jaune.

Ozpin gave him an impressed smile before answering, "Think of every person's aura as a different language, in every language you can have different dialects depending on where you come from. This situation is much the same, it is Miss Rose's aura but it has two different accents, her normal Remnant one and hidden very carefully underneath that the Earth-like aura."

"What capabilities does this Earth aura give her?" asked Blake, already planning how to deal with this new threat.

Ozpin frowned, "we've never been able to do a direct study on Earth auras but from reports by both eyewitnesses and our own observations it is clear that their aura works on a fundamentally different level to ours."

He took a deep breath before continuing, "you see our aura quite literally shields us from harm. It does this by healing us, making us stronger and the creation of semblances. However Earth aura instead revolves around recognizing and avoiding the danger entirely."

Noticing their confused expressions he elaborated, "their aura will manifest itself as feeling or instincts that tell her what the best course of action is or enhance her senses to spot threats before they arrive. From what you told me of the Forever Fall incident this aura is now beginning to awaken within her."

"However we have never had someone that has both Remnant and Earth aura so we have no idea what to expect at this point," he finished.

"Surely there must be some of the descendants from these individuals alive today you could study?" asked Weiss.

"Unfortunately not Miss Schnee, the last surviving family, the Oum family, went missing a few years ago," answered the headmaster.

"We can only hope that no one else recognizes the significance of Miss Rose. These Earthlings have always brought change with them, for good or ill," muttered a depressed Ozpin.

* * *

><p>"So hungry," moaned Red.<p>

Luckily she'd made it into Vale before nightfall, unluckily she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. Something her groaning stomach wouldn't let her forget. A sweet smell began filling her nose, causing her stomach to rumble even louder. Following it showed a street bakery stall that was full of steaming pastries, causing Red's mouth to water. Walking up to the vendor she began trying to beg and bargain for just one free of charge.

"Please I'm really hungry," she begged.

The man growled pushing her to the ground, "get out of here you filthy street urchin!"

Red felt her temper flare, 'this greedy bastard can't even part with one.' She could just take them and run, he wouldn't catch her Ruby semblance would make sure of that. The question was should she? It was wrong to steal she knew that but she was so hungry. Sighing Red got up ready to walk away, her stomach groaning in protest, when the man made the decision for her.

"I thought I told you to scram!" he roared, slapping her across the face.

"That's it!" screamed Red.

Kicking the vendor in the crotch she jumped over to the register and stole as many notes as she could fit in her pockets before grabbing some pastries and sprinting down the street. Red didn't stop running until she had left the cries of her victim far behind.

"You know it's not very nice to take things that aren't yours," commented an amused voice.

Red's hand immediately went to Crescent Rose as she turned around, "you're one to talk," she shot back.

"Guilty as charged," came the smug response.

"What do you want?" she growled, beginning to unsheathe her scythe.

"Now now no need for that, I've just got a business proposition for you," he continued smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Welp that was a hell of a chapter to kick off the first non-canon arc, don't you think? Poor Ozpin he should have known nothing ever goes according to plan. Ok so I never really understood aura in the show, sometimes it seems like it is sentient, an example being Jaune's aura activating by itself and also Ruby's incomplete control over her Semblance. However Pyrrha explained it as if they were tools possibly controlled by their subconscious, so sorry to anyone that had a problem with it. Anyway hope you guys enjoyed it.<br>**


	13. A 'Shocking' Turn of Events

**Hey Frost HAPPY BIRTHDAY! So I now have a two week holiday so I want to ask would you guys rather short chapters which would be released quicker like this one or would you rather long ones like the previous one but released a bit slower. PM or review what you want and I'll try to do it for the next two weeks. Personally I'd rather do the longer chapters for the holidays as I have more time but the choice is your's so let me know.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did the giant mech would be called Freckles.**

* * *

><p>It was a quiet dinner at team RWBY and JNPR's table, even the normally bright energetic Nora was solemn and silent as they ate. It had been two days since 'Ruby' had gone missing and the only news they had on her whereabouts was an empty locker half buried in snow. The happy cheerful atmosphere they'd once shared had drifted away without her to act as an anchor.<p>

"I hope Ruby's okay," said Jaune.

"Don't call her that! That imposter is not my sister," snapped Yang.

"So she just deserves to be killed by some Grimm in the wild or starve to death in the streets!" he shot back.

"Both of you quiet down, you're not helping!" shouted Blake standing up.

Both teams looked shocked at hearing the normally quiet and reserved Faunus raise her voice. Yang and Jaune both looked down on their food with guilty expressions.

"Does it really matter if she is or isn't Ruby?" asked Nora. "Do all the good times we shared as friends or the times she helped us over the past week mean nothing if she's not Ruby? If she's not Ruby then doesn't that mean she helped all of us without knowing who we are, and what do we do? Attack her and chase her out of Beacon."

Everyone turned to look at the ginger in surprise, they had never seen Nora this serious before, and to make it worse she was right. There was silence between them as the teams pondered on what she had said, Yang looked around unable to believe what she was hearing.

"She manipulated us, deceived us and you feel sorry for her!" she exclaimed.

"She also protected us from the Rapier Wasps, saved Cardin's life after he nearly got her killed and saved Sun's and Blake's too, all the while knowing it would come back to haunt her," interrupted Weiss.

"That doesn't sound like a bad kind of person," agreed Blake.

"That could all be part of her plan, are you forgetting she knew about Torchwick!" said Yang paranoid.

"And did you even ask her about that before you attacked her?" asked Jaune.

"The Headmaster did say that Earth aura is not very well understood, only that it can predict the future to some degree, perhaps that had something to do with it?" reasoned Ren.

They descended back into silence as each of them thought about what he had said. Yang frowned, gripping her fork so hard that it gave a metallic shriek as it bent. 'I don't care what they think when I find her I'll beat that imposter to the ground, with or without their help,' she thought.

"Yang you alright, you look kind of… off," asked Pyrrha.

"I'm fine," she replied, getting up from the table.

As she left the cafeteria Weiss and Blake shared a glance. While Blake got up to follow Yang back to the dorms Weiss turned to team JNPR.

"You saw her expression right?" she asked.

Getting nods from all of them she sighed, "Listen if you can, make sure Yang isn't alone at any time and for the love of God if you hear anything about Ruby tell me or Blake not Yang okay? We don't need her running off on her own personal witch hunt."

Seeing them all nod in understanding Weiss got up and followed her teammates back to the dorms, leaving a very confused and concerned team JNPR to their dinner.

* * *

><p>Red looked down from the rooftop to the city streets below, she was supposed to scout the location and provide support when they moved in.<p>

"Store is clear, he's directing the customers out so he can close up the shop," she said into her headset.

"Alright you know the plan get in position," ordered the voice on the other end.

"Got it, moving now," she replied.

Checking her pockets to make sure her equipment was ready she pulled her hood over her head and jumped down from the roof. She walked into the store and went over to the counter, only to be greeted by the owner.

"I'm sorry ma'am but we're closing early due to the recent dust robberies, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said.

Red began crying, "P-Please mister there are some bad men chasing me… th-they said they wanted to show me a good time… then… then…" she choked out with fake sobs.

The man's eyes widened and his expression softened as he walked over to her, "oh you poor thing did they hurt you?" he asked, giving her a hug.

Red smirked, 'hook, line and sinker.' Reaching into her pocket she quickly jabbed the man with her Taser, causing him to spasm and fall to the floor unconscious, an expression of horror etched on to his face. Red quickly checked the rest of the store for witnesses before reporting in.

"The target is down and the store is clean, you're all clear Adam," she said, trying to keep the distaste out of her voice.

"Understood we're moving in now," he replied.

Five minutes later the door bells rang and in walked Adam Taurus followed by seven White Fang grunts. Adam walked over to her as the grunts began to steal every single bit of dust they could get their hands on.

"Looks like they weren't lying when they said you were good but you know you could have made this a lot easier if you'd let us kill the target," he commented.

"You're here to observe me for the boss not question my decision making Adam, besides the plan worked didn't it?" she retorted.

Adam grunted and made his way over to help pack the dust, Red was going to help when she felt it. The familiar prickling of the skin at the back of her head, causing alarm bells to ring in her mind. Something bad was about to happen, panicking she ran over to Adam.

"We need to go! Now! Grab all the dust that we've packed so far and let's move," she ordered.

They all looked at her in surprise before turning to Adam, the Faunus held up a hand and just looked at Red frowning.

"Why do we need to go?" he asked.

"Something bad is coming, I can feel it," she explained.

"You're calling off this whole operation because of a 'bad feeling?'" he said, sceptically.

The others looked just as sceptical, some were even outright laughing at her, Red felt the blood rush to her face.

"Damn it Adam! The boss put me in charge of this mission and if I say abort, we abort, got it?" she demanded, glaring as best a 15 year old could.

Adam began reaching for Wilt and Blush looking ready to tear her to shreds, instead however he sighed and nodded. Looking back to the spectating grunts he yelled, "Well you heard her get moving!"

As the grunts ran out of the store Adam turned to Red, "You're going to have to explain to the boss why we called this off and I hope for your sake it's better than 'I had a bad feeling,'" he warned.

Red nodded and they both followed the grunts out of the store to the rendezvous point. As they reached R.V point the group heard sirens growing in the distance, eyes widening they looked behind them. Ten cop cars had surrounded the store and were in the process of attempting to negotiate with the now absent White Fang. Red felt all the eyes fall upon her as the group realized just how close they'd come to disaster.

Adam slowly walked up to her, "Red next time you have a bad feeling promise me you'll punch me until I listen," he said, offering a hand.

Red smiled, "I'll hold you to that Adam," she said, shaking the offered hand.

"Still how did they know we were there, we set off no alarms and I think ten cars is a bit too large to be a regular patrol," she asked him.

He nodded, "you're right, the only explanation is that they already knew we were coming and that can mean only one thing."

* * *

><p>"No Miss Xiao Long we have not heard any news on our friend's location since the locker was discovered last night," informed Ozpin.<p>

"There must be something! People don't just disappear off the face of Remnant!" she screamed.

"Vale is a big city Miss Xiao Long, plenty of places for someone to hide if they wanted to. In fact we don't even know if she is still alive or not at this point," he explained.

"Give my team and a break in class, we can go look for her and cover more ground," suggested Yang.

Ozpin shook his head, "no we have informed the Vale police department to be on the lookout for her as well as placed her on the missing persons list, that will do more the your team ever could."

"She should be placed on a wanted list not missing persons," she hissed.

"Miss Xiao Long, our friend is not responsible for what happened to Miss Rose. Indeed you might need to consider that she is Ruby, after all remember they did consume each other," he explained.

"That imposter is not my sister," she spat.

Ozpin just sighed, "Tell me Miss Xiao Long, what makes a person who they are? Is it their appearance, their friends and family, their drives and goals or is it a combination of all of them? What is a soul? Until you can answer these questions do you really have the right to say whether or not she is your sister?" he asked, glaring at her.

Yang didn't respond and left the room without a dismissal, slamming the door on her way out. Unable to control her temper she began walking down to the training room, where she had been spending most of her time these past few days venting.

* * *

><p>"So we have a traitor," commented Roman.<p>

"Yes sir there is no other explanation for what happened there, if not for your agent Red here we would've been behind bars, with no dust instead of half the amount," replied Adam.

Red was currently sitting on a dust crate doing maintenance work on Crescent Rose as Adam reported in to Roman. Upon hearing her name she looked up from her work to see if they were talking to her, realizing they weren't she returned to her maintenance. Roman gave her a quick look before turning back to Adam.

"Your new job is to find who this rat is and put a stop to it, our employer is not a fan of traitors," he ordered.

Adam nodded, "In that case I would like to request the aid of your agent. She has shown very good powers of perception that would prove invaluable to the investigation."

Both Red and Roman looked up in surprised at this, "I can't argue with that logic, so how about it Red? Feel like working with our friend here?" asked Roman.

Red just shrugged, "why not I was just planning on calibrating Crescent Rose anyway."

"Alright then get your equipment ready and get some food from the mess hall, I'll catch you afterwards and show you around," said the Bull Faunus.

As Red left Roman turned to Adam, "so how did she do?"

"She is a very creative planner, good at manipulating others and knows how to evaluate a risk vs reward scenario," he answered.

"So don't play cards with her then," joked Roman.

Adam nodded, "but she is hesitant to kill and complicates things needlessly in order to avoid it, I can safely say she will kill if given no other choice but the motivation has to be high to do so," he smirked. "She reminds me of someone I used to know," he concluded.

Roman nodded and dismissed the White Fang lieutenant, whom then walked out to get some food and rest.

"So your newest recruit has some potential after all," came a female voice from behind him.

"Indeed not only does she have two auras, one of which is an Earth aura no less but she also can also think on her feet and adapt, a rare quality nowadays," agreed Roman.

"Let us hope you can keep her loyal, it would be a problem if such an individual turned against us," she warned.

Roman turned around grinning, "don't worry I have something that will keep our Little Red in line," he said smugly.

"I hope so Roman, for your sake," threatened Cinder.

* * *

><p><strong>Why is Red working for Roman? What will happen when team RWBY is reunited? And who is the traitor? Who knows I guess you'll have to wait and find out. Hope you guys enjoyed it.<strong>


	14. The Weight of a Life

**Ok guys longer chapters it is however the updates are going to be sporadic from now on, as I'm sure you realise some chapters are easier to write then others. Also I've been reading through the previous chapters again and I think my story is beginning to suffer from Cerberus Syndrome which might make it hard to get back to canon. Meh I find a way I guess, anyway enjoy the chapter.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did they would use shipping names as battle tactics... wait a second...**

* * *

><p>"And this is where you'll be sleeping," informed Adam.<p>

Red looked around the room, if it could be called that. There was barely enough space to fit the two of them in here. The room itself contained a desk and chair as well as a light that looked ready to die any minute. It didn't even have a bed, instead there was a hammock with a stool at one end of the room. 'Well beats sleeping on the streets,' she thought sighing. Adam noticed her expression and stared at her disapprovingly.

"You should be grateful usually only the higher ups get their own room," he scolded.

Red nodded as she continued to study her new living quarters, frowning as she realized something. "Where's the bathroom?" she asked, turning to face him.

"At the end of the hall, we use communal bathrooms Red, also there is only 5 minute showers at max," he said, gesturing down the hall.

"Utility above all else huh?" she commented.

Adam merely grunted in response, "is there any place you want to check out now, if not I'm going," he asked.

Red paused for a minute thinking, reaching in to her pocket she felt the Taser present. Thinking back to the magazine incident in the Dust til Dawn she smirked, 'might as well see what else I inherited from Ruby.'

"Yeah can you show me to the armory?" she asked.

"Why?" he asked in surprise.

"My team back at Beacon wasn't entirely happy with my career change, in fact I still have the bruises on my neck to show for it. They'll come after me and I'll need a trick up my sleeve to beat them," she answered.

Adam nodded and motioned for her to follow him, he seemed to be distracted as they walked, ignoring the many salutes from his subordinates as they passed. As they arrived at the armory Adam tapped her on the shoulder.

"This may sound strange but did you know a Cat Faunus at Beacon?" he asked, almost shyly.

"Sure did, Blake Belladonna, she was one of my friends," she informed him.

"Wait what do you mean 'was'?" he interrogated with much more force.

"She was on my team that tried to kill me, attempts at my own life usually means we're not friends anymore," she shot back angrily.

Adam looked shocked at this bit of information, "That's not how Blake does things she's like you, she doesn't kill unless there is no other option."

"Look I don't know! All I do know is that my own team just tried to kill me!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in anger.

"Right sorry," he said, looking apologetic.

Red nodded and walked over to the creates of dust crystals and began pulling them apart, much to Adam's horror.

"Be careful with those they are extremely volatile!" he shouted.

Red just gave him a deadpan look, "Ya don't say."

Returning to her work she frowned and turned to face him, "where do you keep the yellow dust and crystals?" asked Red, ignoring Adam's questioning look.

He just shook his head and pointed to another pile off in the corner. Getting up Red walked over to the pile and grabbed a crystal as well as two jars of dust. Remembering her sparing session and beat down by Yang, Red frowned. 'She's the biggest threat, Yang has probably memorized all of Ruby's attacks and she's too smart to fall for the same trick again. Then there's Blake, from what Adam said she has killed before plus her semblance is annoying. Weiss shouldn't be too big of a problem if I can catch her alone, my speed make her rapier useless, but if I get trapped in one of her stasis glyphs I'm screwed.'

Walking over she placed the dust components on a table and reached into her pocket, pulling out her Taser. Placing both it and Crescent Rose on the table she frowned, she knew she should stop using Ruby's scythe. Maybe even pull it apart and cannibalize it for a new weapon, one that would give her the advantage over team RWBY. She knew all of this and yet for some reason every time she thought about leaving or destroying the scythe a feeling of disgust filled her, no one was doing that to her sweetheart! Red blinked, 'did I just call Crescent Rose my sweetheart?' she thought confused. She flinched as a spike of pain lanced through her, causing Red to grip her head in agony.

* * *

><p>"<em>Okay Ruby you have been going well with your training, I think it's time to step it up a notch," informed Qrow.<em>

"_You mean…" she trailed off hopefully._

_Qrow smiled, "that's right, time for live weapons training," he answered._

_Ruby squealed in excitement as Qrow walked over to a nearby chest and took out what looked like a block of metal. Ruby was confused, how could that block of metal be a weapon? Was it a type of gun? No uncle Qrow mainly focused on close quarters combat not gunfights. _

"_Ruby do you know what I'm famous for?" he asked._

_She shook her head, "only that you're a really strong hunter," she replied._

_Qrow gave a chuckle, "If you think I'm strong you should see my old teammates, no Ruby I'm famous for being one of the best scythe wielders in Remnant," he answered._

_Ruby gasped as the block of metal in his hand began to shift into the recognizable shape of a red and black scythe. Smirking at her expression Qrow walked over to her._

"_This is the basic form that all scythes share, individual wielders often design and customize them to have numerous functions, and some even put a different second form in theirs," he explained. "And this one is yours, congratulations Ruby."_

"_Oh this is so cool, I could make it split into two sickles, no that would leave me at a disadvantage at ranged combat. Oh I know I could make it shoot elemental powers, no I wouldn't have enough money for the dust required to make it. I got it! A sniper rifle embedded into the scythe, the recoil could help me in close quarters and I could use the scythe blade to stabilize it when I need to fire accurately," listed Ruby animatedly._

_Qrow looked overwhelmed at her constant stream of plans and just shook his head. Ruby looked up to him with an embarrassed expression._

"_I read your weapons magazines when you're late to training, they're really interesting," she explained._

_He just sighed, "Putting aside the fact that you read and enjoy weapon magazines that even I struggle to understand, you need to realize that this is a weapon not a toy Ruby," he said seriously._

"_I know uncle Qrow, don't worry I'll be careful," she assured him._

_Handing the scythe to her Ruby nearly dropped it, it was a lot heavier than the skinny thing looked. Struggling to lift the scythe up she attempted a basic overhead slash, only to fall on her backside dropping the scythe. _

"_Heavy isn't it?" asked Qrow helping her up. Not breaking eye contact he continued, "That is the weight of a weapon that can take a person's life. That is the weight of the responsibility that you now hold in your hands Ruby. Never forget it."_

_Qrow gave a sad smile, "Now do you have a name for your monstrosity in the making," he joked._

"_I'll call it Crescent Rose," she said, eyeing the scythe fondly._

_His face showed a confused expression, "Why Crescent Rose?"_

_Ruby's gaze dropped to the floor, "the blade reminds me of the moon," she said._

"_Well that explains Crescent but why Rose?" mused Qrow._

"_To remind me of what I'm fighting for," whispered Ruby._

"You okay?" asked Adam who had been watching her with mild interest.

"Yeah just a headache, I've grown used to it by now," she replied.

Bringing her attention back to the weapon in front of her she frowned. In her mind were the blue prints of the scythe down to exact detail, she could take it apart and put it back together again blindfolded. Looking at her collection on the table a plan began to form in her mind, packing everything up she walked back to Adam. 'What you're fighting for huh, so what am I fighting for? Ruby sorry but I'm going to mess with your sweetheart a little bit,' she thought with remorse.

"Hey Adam do you guys have a workshop I have some improvements to make also do you have any spare gloves I can have, the thicker the better," she said her voice neutral.

"I'll see what we've got," motioning her to follow they headed out of the armoury.

Taking one last look behind her Red gasped, stunned. With the lights off the armoury was being illuminated by the different dusts crystals, it was beautiful array of colours and Red felt like she could stare at it all day and not get bored.

"Oi Red hurry up," called Adam.

Running after him neither of them noticed the dust crystals dim as they left the armoury, nor the crystal in Red's hand continuing to glow brighter.

* * *

><p>"Alright you all know why you're here, we have a traitor in our midst and if anyone knows who's feeding the information it will be the Schnee Company," informed the Bull Faunus.<p>

Red along with the seven grunts from before were all looking at Adam, listening to his mission briefing while the Bullhead approached their destination.

"Our internal investigations have shown that over two days ago an unauthorized communication was sent to the police. While we can't break into the station ourselves we can be sure that the Schnee Company intercepted this call and are looking into it as well," he explained.

Red held the safety harness in a death grip, deathly pale, as the Bullhead encountered turbulence. She was never a fan of flying, she preferred her feet to be on the ground where they belonged. It might sound weird considering what she does in her parkour but say what you will she felt safer doing that then she did flying and considering the accident that started all this that was saying something.

"We're being deployed with Majestic for this mission, their job is to sabotage the facilities security. It's our job to break in get any data they have on the traitor and get out, simple as that. Any questions?" concluded Adam.

Red had heaps, the problem was the minute she opened her mouth she'd lose all her lunch. The others began preparing themselves as they began to approach the Schnee data storage facility.

"What are our ROE?" asked one of the grunts readying his weapon.

Adam gave a quick glance to Red before turning to face him, "Don't fire until fired upon after that shoot to kill," he said.

Red frowned but said nothing as the Bullhead landed on one of the rooftops, undoing her safety harness she ran outside and collapsed on the ground. The group laughed at this and even Adam had a smile on his face as they began moving on to the compound.

"Big Sky, this is Strike One, we're moving on the compound now," reported Adam into his radio.

"Understood Strike One, you've got the green light to engage," came the pilot's reply.

"Alright Red you go on ahead and scout, get as close as you can without risking yourself. The rest of you spread out we don't want to draw attention to ourselves and for God's sake hide those weapons and uniforms," he ordered.

Red nodded and began to walk down the streets of Vale when she stopped, frowning.

"What is it?" questioned Adam.

Red shook her head, "nothing… just a bad feeling."

Everyone turned to look at each other remembering the last time she had a bad feeling, suddenly very worried.

Adam frowned before activating the radio, "Majestic come in."

As feared there was nothing but an ominous silence in reply. "Big Sky we've lost contact with Majestic, can you get through?" asked Adam.

"Negative Strike One, I'll keep trying to raise them though," came the reply.

Adam turned to face them, "alright for now we stick to the plan but make sure to keep in constant radio contact."

Red nodded and headed down the streets, still aglow with lights celebrating the upcoming Vytal festival. Heading down the streets she noticed movement in the corner of her eyes, turning she immediately grabbed Crescent Rose and got into a battle stance, her heart pounding. There standing in front of one of the stores was Yang Xiao Long.

"If you think I'm going down like last time, you're sadly mistaken," she growled, fingering her neck.

Yang didn't respond and instead turned to the store tapping her foot, looking very impatient. Confused Red began to prepare for a surprise attack when the shop door opened, glancing at the door Red's heart stopped, Crescent Rose falling from numb hands. Cheerfully skipping over to her sister was none other than Ruby Rose.

"Sorry for taking so long sis," apologized Ruby.

"Ruby this is the fourth bakery we've been to, you really need to start showing some restraint and that's coming from me," complained the blonde.

"But Yang they're half price during the Vytal Festival," pouted Ruby.

Yang sighed, "Ruby keep up this sugar diet and soon you won't be able to fit through the door anymore."

Grinning the blonde walked over to her sister and grabbed her bag, "so we better start burning off that sugar now."

Yanking the bag from her Yang ran down the streets calling, "catch me if you can."

Ruby blinked before running after her sister, "get back here Yang Xiao Long."

Red watched as the two sisters ran down the street before jumping as her radio went off, looking around she found the two sisters were gone, vanished without a trace. Standing stock still Red slowly picked up her scythe, 'What… What was that?' she thought hesitantly.

"Red here, what's wrong?" she spoke into the headset.

"What's wrong! We've been trying to contact you for five bloody minutes! What happened?" came Adam's angry response.

"Sorry about that, thought I saw an old teammate and panicked, thankfully I was mistaken" she answered.

Adam sighed, "Alright we've found a place to act as a fall back point meet us there," he ordered.

Giving an affirmative Red walked down the streets to the meeting point, not noticing a security camera following her every move.

* * *

><p>Red looked down from her vantage point on to the compound across the street, she had to say calling it a compound was a bit misleading. It was a two story building surrounded by barb wire fences as well as guard towers at regular intervals and one check point at the gate. However it was surrounded on all sides by security cameras leaving no real blind spot past the fence line to exploit. What caught both her and Adam's attention however was the line of Faunus being loaded into a truck.<p>

"Well I guess now we know what happened to Majestic?" she joked.

The Bull Faunus just glared at her as the truck drove off, "this is not good the Schnee security never take people alive unless they want to interrogate them."

"Look I'll get the data you and the team go after Majestic," she said.

Adam looked at her ready to argue, "Adam just trust me I know what I'm doing," she pleaded.

He sighed and nodded, "ok Red we'll do it your way."

Turning back to the rest of the team he lead them off the roof top and headed back to the Bullhead for pick up. Taking a deep breath she walked over to the checkpoint with her best Ruby smile.

"Excuse me Miss this is private property of the Schnee Dust Company, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get you to leave," said one of them.

"Hi my name's Ruby Rose, Headmaster Ozpin sent me to pick up some data," she said, putting as much peppiness into her voice as possible.

The two of them shared a glance, "we weren't informed of any pick ups, I'm going to need to report this to the Director," he said.

Red nodded, 'ok step one complete they didn't shoot me on sight, now I need to figure out a step two.' One of them got off his radio and walked over to her.

"The Director wants to speak to you, follow me," he told her.

* * *

><p>"Nice to meet you Ruby Rose, my name is Leonard Church I am the Director of this facility," introduced the director.<p>

"Now mind telling me what business Beacon has here?" he asked, taking a seat.

Red sat down on her own chair her fake smile still etched onto her face, 'no way that's his name it must be a coincidence,' she thought in disbelief.

"You have some data critical for our mission against the White Fang, the Headmaster sent me here fearing an attack to obtain it," she lied.

"I see well there was an attack but thankfully they didn't get very far, so you can tell your Headmaster that there is nothing to worry about," concluded the director.

"With all due respect Director I was told to pick up the data not deliver a message. Weiss even said you'd help me," she argued, dropping her smile.

"Yes I am aware you are teammates with Miss Schnee, in fact that is the only reason we are speaking," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"However if you were indeed sent by Miss Schnee then you must have the passcode for this facility, after all every facility has a different passcode for authorization purposes and if not you could just call her to ask," he said smirking.

"That won't be necessary," she said hastily. 'Damn it he's calling my bluff, ok think what would Weiss make as a passcode, come on aura help me out here.'

"Well Miss Rose I'm waiting," drawled the director as two guards began to approach her chair.

Looking at him Red blinked as she had a brainwave, no person not even a Schnee could think up passcodes for every single facility. 'Which means he's the one who thought it up,' she realized. It was a long shot but it was also the only chance she had and in this case no answer was just as bad as a wrong answer. 'Screw it I always raise the pot when I have a bad hand anyway,' she thought smirking.

"The passcode is Allison," Red announced.

The director's smirk dropped and his expression darkened instantly, the two guards gripped her shoulders hard. Red's body began to go into overdrive as she struggled to get free from their vice like grip.

"No stop, let her go," ordered the director, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

Sitting back down he breathed an exasperated sigh, "My apologies Miss Rose but I had to be sure you were telling the truth."

Red's heart slowed down as she began to relax and a relieved smile crept along her face. Rubbing her shoulders she nodded to him.

"I understand Director you can never be too careful these days, especially with the White Fang running around," she replied.

The director nodded and got up from his chair, "indeed, if you would please follow me Miss Rose we will get the required data ready for you."

Red had to struggle to keep a triumphant smirk off her face, "of course Director after you."

* * *

><p>Weiss had been having a quiet day, Yang was off on one of her venting sessions in the training room as usual and Blake had gone to check for any news about Ruby. Sighing she was about to have a nap on her bed when her scroll went off. Groaning she got off her bed and angrily opened up the scroll before frowning. It was a message from the data storage site 17-B, 'why did they send me a message? Usually dad deals with these kinds of things,' she wondered. Her curiosity getting the better of her she opened up the message her eyes growing wide.<p>

_A memo to Weiss Schnee, the daughter of Mr. Schnee and owner of the Schnee Dust Company, from the Director of Site 17-B 'Valhalla.'_

_Dear Miss Schnee,_

_I would like to remind you that this facility is to be used by the company only and it would be appreciated if you did not announce the data we collect to third parties. I have spoken with your father about this and he agrees with me, we both know being a huntress is important to you but please keep in mind that you are a Schnee first and huntress second. Secondly the next time something like this comes up we would appreciate it if you did not show up unannounced and do not, I repeat DO NOT give out our passcodes to your teammates again, no matter how good friends you are. If I see Miss Rose in my facility again YOU will be held responsible, the next time Ozpin asks for some of our classified data there will be consequences. I do hope I have made myself clear, I do not give second chances, no matter who the individual is Miss Schnee._

_Sincerely yours, The Director of Site 17-B Dr. Leonard Church._

Weiss just sat there staring at the scroll in shock, 'what's going on I never gave out any of the passcodes to anyone!' she thought. Suddenly her eyes widened, 'wait a minute Miss Rose, Ruby was there! But why and how?' Frowning she quickly typed a message explaining the situation, asking for every single bit of detail of his encounter. So consumed was she that she didn't notice Blake walk into the dorms until the Faunus tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to scream and jump, much to Blake's amusement.

"Blake don't do that!" she yelled.

"Sorry but I did call you several times, what has you so interested anyway?" asked Blake.

"I've found something about Ruby," explained the heiress.

Blake's eyes widened as Weiss handed her the message, quickly reading it she turned to Weiss looking shocked. Noting her expression Weiss nodded and took back her scroll.

"Weiss this is big, are you sure this information is reliable? Why would Ruby break in to a Schnee data compound?" she said in disbelief.

"I don't know but the Director isn't the kind of man who would lie about this, he and my father work closely on many projects together. If he says Ruby was there then she was there," responded Weiss.

"What worries me more however is that she knew the passcode for the facility, no one but the directors of each facility and the Schnee family themselves know this," she elaborated worried.

"It could be someone else using her name," suggest Blake.

Weiss nodded, "that's why I was about to search the footage from the security cameras from last night to see if I could find her."

"Good but first, have you informed your father of this?" asked Blake concerned.

"No I was about to send a message explaining the situation to the Director, hopefully he could give us some information on what happened that night," replied Weiss.

Blake looked up in alarm, "Weiss delete that message now!" she demanded.

Weiss jumped at this, "what? Why? It could help us find Ruby," she asked in confusion.

The Faunus just sighed, rubbing her temples, "Weiss if they find out that Ruby has gone rogue and broken in to one of their facilities, they will hunt her down and lock her up or worse."

"You're exaggerating," replied her white haired teammate.

"Am I? Remember how furious they were when they thought that you had given her the passcode, now imagine what'd they'd do if they found out you didn't," argued the Faunus.

Weiss opened her mouth to keep arguing before shutting it again thinking, 'she may have a point,' she thought remembering numerous people who had simply vanished for exposing less. Bringing up the message she hovered her finger over the delete button and taking a deep breath she deleted it.

"Ok let's get to work we have a lot of footage to go over," she said placing her scroll down.

* * *

><p>"Congratulations Miss Xiao Long that was an increase-" began the computer.<p>

"Again," she interrupted.

"Resetting training room floor," stated the computer as more training robots spawned from the sides.

Yang growled unloading punch after punch into the robots, which had been running into short supply recently. _Tell me Miss Xiao Long, what makes a person who they are?_ Roaring she rounded on her next target._ My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that I'm weak? I'm hurt that my own sister thinks so little of me_. Dodging its sloppy attempt to catch her by surprise she preceded to punch through its head in a single hit. _Does it really matter if she is or isn't Ruby?_ Ripping her fist out of the sparking wreck she blocked a blow to her head before grabbing the offenders arm and ripping it out of its socket. _Hey sis, you okay?_ Using the arm as a spear she threw it into another, piecing and pinning it to the wall. _Don't call her that! That imposter is not my sister! _Rolling to the side she grabbed the one armed drone and spun, throwing it into the remaining robots. _You might need to consider that she is Ruby_. Charging the still recovering drones she grabbed two of them and slammed their heads together, the force fusing them together permanently. _Under the circumstances I think I'm doing rather well_. Yang side stepped another poorly aimed blow and counter attacked with a sweep kick, knocking the last drone to the ground. _Do you really have the right to say whether or not she is your sister?_ Screaming she straddled the unfortunate survivor, raining blow after blow on it even as it stopped twitching. Panting Yang got up, surrounded by smoking lumps of misshapen metal that were once her opponents.

"Again!" she bellowed.

"Unfortunately there are no more combat drones are available, we apologize for the inconvenience," replied the computer.

Yang sat down leaning against the wall, clutching her legs as tears began rolling down her face. 'I failed, I promised her, I promised I'd keep Ruby safe for her.' Yang wiped away the tears and began walking to the dorms. 'The imposter isn't Ruby I know it, so why do I feel so bad about what I did? I was trying to fulfill my promise, wasn't I?' she questioned. Opening the door to her dorm she saw Blake and Weiss crowding around the heiress' scroll. Frowning she walked up behind them and her eye's flashed red, there on the scroll was the imposter walking down a very recognizable street of Vale.

_Smiling she walked over to Ruby and grabbed her bag, "so we better start burning off that sugar now."_

_Yanking the bag from her sister's grasp she bolted down the street teasingly taunting her little sister. Not too long after she heard someone approaching followed by a voice calling, "get back here Yang Xiao Long!"_

Shaking her head she tapped both of them on the shoulder, causing both to flinch as they slowly turned around.

"You two have some explaining to do," she threatened cracking her knuckles.

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight, your big plan was to walk in and just ask for the data?" said Roman, pinching the bridge of his nose.<p>

"Yep," she replied, cheerfully.

The entire warehouse was silent as everyone began staring at her in shock. Red looked around in confusion suddenly wishing she was somewhere else.

"Umm… did I do something wrong? I got the data and got out isn't that what we wanted?" she asked.

"Wait that actually worked!" exclaimed Adam.

Handing over the data chip Red smiled, "Apparently Ozpin needed that data for a 'critical mission.' So he sent me to pick up a copy to take it back to Beacon, after all you can never be too careful with those White Fang running around. Who knows what they'd do with it."

Everyone in the warehouse burst out laughing and even Roman had to smile at that. Adam just shook his head muttering, "You're mad."

Red turned to him grinning, "Thank goodness for that because if I wasn't that probably would never have worked."

Her grin dropped however as she heard bang from behind her. Frowning she spun around and saw three people trapped in cages, banging on the bars and screaming insults. She glared at Adam whom met her glare with one of his one.

"Listen Red, I know how you feel about this but these four are bad people, you saw what they we're going to do to Majestic," reasoned Adam.

"So you think that justifies this sort of treatment?" she shot back.

"Turnabout is fair play," he responded coldly.

Red began walking to her room disgusted, "it's that kind of thinking that caused Blake to leave Adam."

Adam growled and was about to run after her when he felt something grab him in a headlock. Eye's widening he attempted to break the hold when a knife appeared at his throat. 'How the hell did he get out and why didn't I notice him,' thought Adam furiously.

"Alright listen up you're going to get my three friends out of those cages or the bull gets it," threatened the prisoner.

Roman just shook his head, "you know we can't do that plus he's expendable and if you kill him you die next," he stated as casually as one might discus the weather.

"I'm being serious here! I will kill him!" he yelled, waving the knife for emphasis.

The minute the knife was away from his neck Adam sprang into action, head butting his captor whom released his hold in surprise. However he underestimated the human who recovered quickly and before anyone could react grabbed Adam by the neck and bringing his knife down for a killing blow.

_BANG_

And just as quickly the man's head disappeared in a shower of red as his body fell to the floor. Everyone turned to the source of the sound to see Red holding Crescent Rose in trembling hands, an expression of pure horror on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>There you guys go, damn this is getting pretty dark. Next chapter won't be so bad I promise, surprisingly enough I'm actually looking forward to writing Yang and Red's meeting should be fun. So originally I wanted the compound infiltration to be based off a Shadowrun mission I did, basically they'd steal a garbage truck and just go screw stealth and drive through the checkpoint and blow shit up but I decided that was too far and changed it sorry to anyone that would have rather done that. Still I'm happy how it turned out, this way I got to focus on team RWBY for a bit. Anyway as a little game I put in many different references to different series, both obvious and subtle, see how many you can find.<strong>


	15. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Alright I'm going to apologise in advance but I didn't have time to edit this properly as I will be away for the weekend and I wanted to update before I left so sorry for all the grammar errors I'll try to fix them when I get back. **

**I don't own RWBY if I did the shopkeeper would stop owning so many damn ****businesses.**

* * *

><p>Red looked around her confused, there was no comforting weight of Crescent Rose or the feeling of drag from her cloak that she had grown accustom to. Frowning she looked around, this wasn't any part of Vale she recognized and yet it seemed strangely familiar. Her eyes widened as she recognized where she was, 'no way' she thought in shock. Tears of joy streaming down her face and a wide smile growing larger she ran down the familiar streets. Coming upon a familiar house she nearly cried out in joy, 'it's here, it's really here.' Taking a deep breath she skipped up and knocked on the door, praying the right person answered, as the door swung open.<p>

"Honey where have you been? You're late for dinner, we're starting to get worried. Did you get lost in the storm? You haven't been jumping from rooftops again I hope, honestly it will be the death of you," came a female voice.

Red didn't respond and just ran into her knocking them both over, embracing her with a hug and refusing to let go, sobbing as she felt a hand stroke her head.

"Shh… it's okay honey its okay I'm here, tell me did something happen?" she asked concerned.

"No I've just missed you all so much," answered Red.

"Alright missy if you're trying to get out of punishment for being late it's not working, now come on dinner is just about ready," she joked.

Red just smiled and wiped away the tears, "thanks mom, it's good to be home."

* * *

><p>It was really here, her room, her bed, even her computer, exactly like she left it. Unable to contain her joy she began jumping up and down on her bed, much to the chagrin of her mother.<p>

"Honey stop that you're acting like a child," she scolded.

"I'm not a child, I drink milk," stated Red, proudly puffing out her chest.

Her mother just raised her eyebrows, "anyway get down from there I need you to help me set up the table."

"Sure thing, by the way what is for dinner? It smells good," asked Red.

"Roast Nevermore," came the reply.

Red stumbled nearly dropping the plates, "what did you say?"

"I said we're having roast chicken," answered her irritated mother.

"Oh sorry, I thought you said something else," she apologized.

Taking her seat at the table she frowned, 'why is there four plates, are we expecting a visitor?' she wondered. Her parents for their part didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, as they looked at the empty seat with a look of irritation.

"Looks like your sister decided not to join us again," sighed her father.

Red blinked, "my… sister? What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Now honey you shouldn't say things like that, I know that she's been spending a lot of time at clubs instead of with you but that is no excuse for this kind of behaviour," lectured her mother.

"Leave her be Summer, they're siblings it's natural for them to fight," commented her father.

'Summer?' A cold feeling began washing over Red as she slowly checked her reflection in the silver wear, 'please don't be her, please don't be her,' she chanted with closed eyes. Opening them she dropped the spoon and began trembling, sure enough there was Ruby staring back at her with wide eyes and a horrified expression. Her parents looked at each other concerned but before they could speak up an alarm went off in the kitchen.

"Looks like dinner is ready," said her father, gaining an odd smile.

"Oh yes, honey you're getting a treat today," her mother told her, sporting a similar grin as she walked into the kitchen.

Red snapped out of her stupor at this and looked between them in confusion, her parents never smiled like that. Getting up from her chair she began to reach for Crescent Rose only to find the scythe missing, attempting to use her semblance resulting in a failure to. Her father got up from his chair and grabbed Red, pushing her back into her seat. The lights in the room were beginning to dim and the walls were losing their colour, oily black shadows now visible on their surface. No longer was this Red's home in its place was house of horrors as the sounds of screaming and gunfire were heard over the creaking of the floors and walls.

"Now now you're mother went through a lot of trouble to make this meal for you, the least you can do is enjoy it," he said, manically as her mother came back in holding a silver platter.

"What is that," asked Red, fearfully gazing at the platter.

"A meal fit for a murderer like you!" spat her mother, removing the top.

Red screamed and immediately began to struggle out of her father's grip, there on the platter was the head of the man she killed, staring blankly at her. Her mother started bringing the platter over to her with an innocent smile.

"What's the matter honey? Did you think we wouldn't find out? Do you not like to see the consequences of your actions," she said in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Biting her father's hand she broke free from his hold and ran to the door. Escaping into the streets Red didn't stop running until she'd left the house far behind. Heading into the nearest bathroom she vomited into the sink, the images still fresh in her mind. Looking up she stared into her foreign reflection in the mirror, her face twisting into an expression of rage at the sight of it.

"Damn you Ruby, damn you to hell!" she screamed punching the mirror, causing her to be showered in fragments of glass.

Unable to take it anymore she fell to the floor sobbing, only to stop when she felt someone approach her. Looking up she saw a red robed hooded figure sitting across from her holding out her hand, snarling Red slapped the hand away and continued sobbing.

* * *

><p>Red's eyes flew open as she fell from the hammock, looking around she found that she was in her tiny room. Rubbing her head from the impact she sighed in relief, 'it was just a dream but who was that figure?' Deciding that any attempt to get more sleep that night would be pointless she began walking to the armoury hoping to see the light show again. Heading into the armoury she was surprised to see it was already occupied by Adam and Roman, whom seemed to be in an argument. Her curiosity getting the better of her she began sneaking over, hiding behind a dust create as she attempted to eavesdrop on the two.<p>

"I'm telling you Roman she isn't ready, you saw how she reacted before," argued Adam.

"The first kill is always like that, she'll get over it," remarked the crook offhandedly.

"There's a difference between killing in self-defence and murder Roman. You're taking it too far with this 'test' of yours, how do you know she'll do it?" asked the Faunus.

"Simple necessity, she broke into a Schnee compound to help the White Fang and one of Vale's most wanted criminals, there aren't a lot of allies that can be made after something like that and she knows it," he told Adam.

"Besides," he said smirking, "I have something she wants, she scratches my back I scratch her's."

Adam looked unconvinced, "and this thing is enough to keep her loyal to you?"

"Why don't we just ask her personally, so Red feel like doing a little job for me," he called in amusement.

Realizing that she'd been discovered she came out of hiding and walked over to them with a rueful smile.

"How long have you known?" she asked, curious.

"Since you walked in," he answered, smirking. "Word to the wise Red, a giant red hooded cloak is not what you wear when trying to be stealthy."

Red just shrugged, "so what's this job you want me to do?"

Adam turned to look at her sighing, "we've found the traitor."

* * *

><p>Yang didn't take the fact that they had been hiding things about the imposter to well, as shown by the meter long hole now connecting team JNPR and RWBY's dorms. After interrogating them for all they knew she went to Ozpin hoping to get permission to hunt her down. The headmaster of Beacon looked slightly shocked at this news.<p>

"Miss Xiao Long, if this is some misguided attempt for you and your team to go looking for her then you will be facing expulsion," he threatened, clearly not amused.

"This is the truth Headmaster both Weiss and Blake can verify it. I would like for my team to go searching for her, I can't think of a good reason to break into a Schnee compound, " answered Yang.

"I agree which is why I am sending team JNPR after her," replied Ozpin.

Yang jumped up and slammed her fists onto the desk causing cracks to form, "what did you say?" she asked, her voice deceptively calm.

Ozpin wasn't impressed with her outburst, "Miss Xiao Long calm yourself," he scolded. "You and your team are too connected to this case that is why I am not sending you after her," he explained.

Yang sat down in her chair again, looking the headmaster in the she frowned, "with all due respect Ozpin do you really think that they can win?" she asked.

Ozpin frowned at her, "what do you mean Miss Xiao Long?"

"As someone who has spared with Ruby since childhood let me tell you they would be hard pressed to beat her, even more so if this Earth aura has made her stronger," she elaborated.

Ozpin gave her curious look, "and what would you suggest?" he asked, already knowing where this was going.

"You need someone who has experience fighting her and right now my team is your best bet, we've all sparred with Ruby before so we have some ideas of her abilities," argued Yang.

Ozpin looked at her obviously weighing the pros and cons of each choice, eventually he sighed, "very well Miss Xiao Long you've made you point. Team RWBY is hereby authorized to find Ruby Rose and bring her back here," he announced.

Yang smiled triumphantly, "don't worry Headmaster we won't fail."

* * *

><p>Red sneezed, "augh damn it I knew that room would make me sick, stupid Adam and his Spartan attitude," she grumbled.<p>

Thinking back to the Bull Faunus she frowned and reached into her pocket pulling out a piece of paper.

"_This is the traitor's address," informed Adam. "We want you to go and deal with him, if he sees any of us he'll be ready but he doesn't know about you,"_

_Red just frowned, "you want me to do your dirty work again?" she asked, furious._

"_Careful Red remember our deal," reminded Roman._

"_A deal that you have yet to come through on!" she shot back._

"_Well I am a busy man dust isn't going to steal itself after all, rest assured Red that I will hold up my end of the bargain if you hold up yours," answered Roman._

"_Fine give me the bloody address," snapped Red, glaring daggers at Roman._

Red sighed, "How did I let him talk me into this?"

"Hello Ruby it's good to see you again," came a female voice interrupting her thoughts.

Red jumped spinning around her hand on Crescent Rose, "gah Penny where did you come from?" she asked the ginger.

Penny cocked her head, "I come from Atlas, why do you ask?"

Red just shook her head a faint trace of a smile on her face, "never mind Penny, anyway nice to see you again, I could use the friendly face," she said muttering the last part.

Penny smiled, "oh wait until I tell the others that I found you they'll be so happy, they've been looking everywhere for you," she said excitedly.

Red grabbed her, alarm bells ringing in her head, "wait Penny you can't tell them anything please, it's umm… a game we're seeing how long it takes for them to find me," she lied.

"Oh that explains why your teammates are searching the city and why Yang brought her motorcycle," said the oblivious ginger.

Red felt the blood drain from her face and weakly grabbed her friend, "P-Penny are you saying that they're searching the city right now?" she asked, fearfully.

Penny nodded cheerfully, "yep don't worry friend Ruby I won't ruin the game for you since you're all taking it so seriously."

"Thanks Penny I appreciate that, by the way could you tell me where this store is I'm a little lost," she admitted handing Penny a piece of paper.

Looking at it Penny nodded and directed her down the street to a nearby store, "thanks for the help Penny and remember don't tell my… friends where I am ok?"

"Understood!" replied Penny, giving a fake salute.

Red nodded and pulled her hood up as she walked into the store as Penny walked off, looking around she saw that she was in the room alone. 'Good no witnesses' she thought gratefully while heading to the counter and ringing the bell.

"Be right there," came a male voice.

The door opened and a male came out holding two stacks of books, placing the books on the counter he gave Red a welcoming smile.

"Welcome to Tukson's book trade home to every book under the sun," he said warmly. "How may I help you?"

'Do I really want to do this? I can still back out. But if I do the deal with Roman's off as well as my source of food and shelter,' she debated. Tukson must have noticed something was wrong as he began curiously watching her.

"Are you ok Miss?" he asked, concerned.

Red sighed, "are you Tukson?" she asked, keeping her voice level.

"Yeah that's me, is there a problem?" he said, confused.

Red semblanced over to the lights, shutting them off before unsheathing her scythe, "Roman sends his regards."

* * *

><p>"Yang we've been searching for hours we need a break," she argued.<p>

"Fine take your breaks but I'm going to keep looking for her," came an angry response from her scroll.

Blake just sighed before turning to Weiss, "I'm going to visit an old friend you want to come with me?" she offered the heiress.

Weiss considered it for a moment before shrugging, "sure anything is better than listening to Yang's constant updates."

Blake nodded and led the way looking slightly happier than usual, after all it has been a long time since she last saw him. 'I wonder how Tukson's doing nowadays,' she thought fondly. Arriving at the store she frowned, he never had the lights off during work hours. She slowly walked to the door unsheathing Gambol Shroud, drawing a confused look from Weiss who followed suite with Myrtenaster. Opening the door they were shocked to see Ruby walking towards Tukson with her scythe drawn, Blake acted quickly firing her pistol only to see her prey disappear in a flash of rose petals. She heard something rapidly approaching her from the side, spinning she blocked Crescent Rose with her katana.

"Weiss call Yang tell her we need back up now and get Tukson out of here!" she ordered.

"Got it," replied Weiss, taking out her scroll as Tukson ran from the store.

Ruby tried to intercept them but Blake grabbed her hood, throwing her into the wall and causing books to fly everywhere. Ruby stood up looking at her with an uncaring expression. Blake frowned, she'd seen that expression before during her time with the White Fang. That was the attitude of someone who just didn't care anymore and detached themselves from others. 'What could have happened to make her like that?' she thought concerned.

"Why are you after Tukson?" she interrogated.

"He's a traitor," answered Ruby like it was the most obvious thing.

"So he deserves to die for it, what about me? Are you going to kill me?" she spat angrily.

For a brief moment she saw it, a flash of guilt cross Ruby's eyes but it was gone in an instant. Ruby charged her only for her scythe to cut through an illusion as Blake appeared beside her, giving an overhead slash that Ruby blocked quarterstaff style.

"Ruby I can see you don't want to do this, please just come with us we can work this out," she said, attempting to reason with her teammate.

"Yeah right, I bet as we speak Yang's lighting the torches and sharpening the pitchforks, I trusted you before Blake and look what happened, I don't make the same mistakes twice," snarled Ruby.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," replied Blake.

Ruby looked surprised at this but recovered quickly, grabbing Blake's katana she forced it to keep in contact with Crescent Rose and gave the Faunus an apologetic look.

"For what it's worth so am I," she replied.

Blake frowned in confusion before she felt searing pain erupt throughout her body, unable to take it anymore she felt her body hit the floor and everything turned dark.

* * *

><p>Weiss told Tukson to hide as took out her scroll and she quickly dialled Yang's number.<p>

"Hey Ice Queen you found anything yet?" joked Yang.

"Not the time Yang, we've found Ruby she's in Tukson's Book Trade in the western district, Blake's keeping her busy right now but she needs help, get over here now!" she said urgently.

"I'm on my way just make sure she doesn't get away," replied Yang, all traces of the joke gone from her voice.

"I'll try but you better hurry," replied Weiss hanging up.

She turned back to the store ready to run in and help Blake when a flash of light was seen followed by Blake screaming in pain. Weiss gripped Myrtenaster tighter as the door opened and out strode Ruby calmly holding her scythe over her shoulder.

"What… what did you do to Blake?" she asked, slightly fearful.

Ruby just shrugged, "who knows," she replied, looking around frowning.

"Where's Tukson?" she asked.

"Somewhere safe," said Weiss.

"I see looks like this was a failure then, goodbye Weiss Schnee," said Ruby as she walked away.

"Hold it!" screamed Weiss, throwing a stasis glyph at Ruby's feet.

Ruby disappeared just as the glyph formed looking unimpressed, "you can't beat me Weiss, don't be an idiot."

Weiss glared at her, "I don't need to beat you, you dolt, just keep you busy until Yang gets here."

For the first time Weiss saw a flash of fear cross Ruby's face, 'looks like Yang made an impression after all,' she thought smirking. Her smirk dropped however as Ruby turned to look at her with cold eyes and unleashed a barrage from Crescent Rose. Using her glyphs she dodged to the side and launched fireballs in return fire, causing Ruby to have to dive to the side. As they circled each other both became aware of a growing sound in the distance, 'she took her time,' thought Weiss smirking. Ruby heard it too and attempted to flee but tripped as Weiss turned the ground to ice below her. Turning Ruby gave her an angry glare which quickly evaporated into fear as they heard the sound of a bike skidding to a halt.

"Well long time no see."

* * *

><p>"Well long time no see," came a voice from behind her.<p>

Red went pale and a hand unconsciously stroked her neck, 'this isn't good I could barely beat Yang by herself and with Weiss helping this just got harder too.' She turned slightly to the side keeping both of them in view. 'At least I still have the trick up my sleeve I need to save it though until I know I can hit Yang.'

"Not long enough Yang Xiao Long," she replied.

"Don't worry after today you won't ever see me again," growled Yang, deploying Ember Celica.

"Be careful Yang she did something to Blake before," warned Weiss.

Yang nodded to her before charging Red, whom tried to back away only to find herself trapped by one of Weiss' glyphs. Quickly firing rounds into the heiress she was able to stun her enough to break the glyph, only to receive a shotgun punch to the chest from the brawler sending her flying into a nearby wall. Jumping out she used her semblance to appear next to Yang deliberately within her guard hoping that she'd take the bait, sure enough once it was close enough the blonde caught the scythe mid swing.

"You're a slow learner huh? Or did you already forget our spar?" taunted Yang.

"Oh I wouldn't say that," replied Red with a triumphant grin as she activated her trap.

Suddenly with a flash of light Crescent Rose came alive with arcs of electricity, crackling as it ran down the scythe's lengths. Yang screamed as the electricity raced up her arm shocking her and igniting the dust rounds stored in Ember Celica effectively rendering the weapon useless. The brawler swayed before she tumbled to the ground, smirking Red turned to Weiss, Crescent Rose still crackling with energy as it arced from the ground to her scythe. To her credit Weiss hid her fear well as Red slowly approached her.

"It's amazing what you can do with a Taser and some dust isn't Schnee," she commented, admiring her sparking scythe.

As Red was taunting Weiss she felt her aura give her a warning, glancing behind she saw a truck rapidly approaching. Red's eyes widened as she saw its course leading it directly into the unconscious Yang, Weiss noticed it too.

"No Yang!" cried the heiress as she tried unsuccessfully to form a stasis glyph around the truck.

Red didn't think she just ran as fast as her semblance could carry her, diving she grabbed Yang shielding her with her body just as the truck hit. She saw a flash of red light before blanking out completely.

* * *

><p>Red woke up hand cuffed to what seemed to be an infirmary bed, feeling for Crescent Rose she found it missing and nowhere in sight. Attempting to sit up she groaned as her back flared with intense pain, Red looked around recognizing the room, 'ah Beacon infirmary how I've missed you so,' she thought jokingly.<p>

"You're early, we didn't expect you up for at least another hour," called a voice.

Looking over she saw Glynda Goodwitch walking over to her while typing on her scroll, most likely sending a message to Ozpin.

"What happened and why does my back hurt?" she asked.

Glynda gave her a brief scowl, "you jumped in front of a moving truck Miss Rose, you should be dead not having a back ache."

"Um… not that I'm complaining but if that's true how am I alive?" she said confused.

Glynda looked at her surprised, "you don't remember?"

Red just shook her head, "all I remember is a red flash of light and then nothing," she answered.

The teacher just rubbed her temples, "that red light was your aura Miss Rose, you managed to push all your aura to one side to create a near indestructible protective barrier. Only the most expert aura masters can do this and yet you apparently did it without thinking."

"Now come along the Headmaster wishes to speak to you," concluded the professor, unlocking the cuffs and grabbing her by the wrist.

Red considered struggling but her back was in no condition to run or fight so she just let herself be dragged into the interrogation room, where Glynda then cuffed her to the desk before turning around and leaving.

Red didn't have to wait long as five minutes later Ozpin came in with two cups of coffee, "welcome back Miss Rose, white and two sugars correct?"

Red looked down on the ground and didn't say anything as he placed the mugs on the table before taking his seat.

Ozpin just sighed, "I've known you were from Earth since the day Miss Xiao Long brought you to my office," he admitted.

He took a deep breath, "I know this may seem cruel but I need you to answer these questions, first tell me about your family how big was it?"

Red looked up confused at where this was going, "it was a family of four, me, my mother, my father and my sister… wait three I had no sister," she answered, confused.

"I see," said Ozpin. "Tell me what was your mother's name?"

"Summer… no that was Ruby's," said Red, clutching her head.

"Never mind I have just one last question, what is your name?" asked Ozpin leaning forward.

"Red," she replied.

"And what is your real name Red?" he asked, gently.

Red frowned, "it's Ruby Ro-," she shut her mouth in confusion.

Ozpin gave her a pitying look, "you do not even remember your own name do you?"

Red just gripped her head, tears beginning to form, "shut up! Shut up and leave me alone!" she screamed at him, a faint red outline beginning to glow around her body.

"No I cannot, Miss Rose right now I'm the only thing standing between you and a prison sentence. I know you're a good person, you've proven that time and again so please tell me, why did you help Roman?"

Red flinched and her hands began shaking as her dream came back to haunt her, "I'm not a good person I'm a monster Ozpin, besides everyone has their price and Roman found mine," she muttered depressed.

"_Now now no need for that, I've just got a business proposition for you," said Roman smiling._

"_Oh and in what world would I ever agree to work with you?" countered Red._

"_That depends preferably Remnant but I suppose I could take you to Earth if you want," commented the crook._

"_How do you know about Earth?" she asked, suspicious._

"_Let's just say a little birdie told me and if you work for me I'll help you go back there," proposed Roman._

"_You're lying if there was a way to go back people would have found it already," she argued._

"_Who's to say they haven't?" questioned the criminal with a smile._

"_What do you mean?" asked Red curious._

"_A couple of months ago I came across some very strange items on the black market, technology that doesn't run off dust. Needless to say I asked around and found that no one in Remnant produced them, so that begs the question who is the supplier?" he grinned._

"_And you expect me to believe the word of Vale's most wanted," she snorted._

_Roman didn't say anything and instead reached into his pocket and threw something at her, "recognize that little gizmo," he asked, smugly._

_Red caught it and examined it with widening eye's, it was a military grade Taser. Red looked at it debating before turning to Roman, "alright I'm in."_

Red shook her head and glanced at Ozpin, whom just sighed and left the room leaving Red to her thoughts, _you don't even remember your own name do you?_

"I don't deserve it anyway, not now," she said, closing her eyes as tears came down her cheeks.

* * *

><p>Team RWBY was silent as they watched the interrogation behind the glass, none of them said a word as they listened each with mixed emotions. Upon seeing Ozpin leave Blake and Weiss got up went back to their dorm, Yang stayed there watching the sobbing girl in front of her for a few minutes before following her teammates out.<p>

* * *

><p>Red opened her eyes to wake up on what looked to be a path in a snow covered forest, panicking she felt for Crescent Rose and to her relief found it present in its holster. She looked up to the moon and to her surprise found it to be whole, its bright light illuminating the pristine white environment. Deciding there was no point in sticking around Red followed the path, hoping to find a way out when she heard it. A low growl followed by a multitude of voices whispering to her as they came closer.<p>

_Liar!_

Red's instincts screamed at her to run as oily shadows became visible on the edges of the path, following her as she tried to flee, whispering all the way.

_Thief!_

She couldn't out run them even with her semblance they were always there, always just standing there whispering at her.

_Coward!_

The moon began to lose it luminance as Red continued running, the forest losing its white and slowly turning black as it was consumed by the darkness until only the path was left, a single light burning in the darkness.

_Betrayer!_

Red felt something grab her shoulder, without thinking she unleashed Crescent Rose on her attacker, cutting it in two. She stopped, looking at her attacker's bisected corpse screaming, there bleeding on the ground was Yang an expression of shock and hurt on her face.

_Murderer!_

She fell to the ground hyperventilating as bits of the path began to break apart and the darkness slowly crept in. Why was she running? The dark can make the pain go away, no more running, no more guilt, no more suffering. Everything would be so much simpler, anyone who gets in her way is an enemy and anyone who is an enemy dies. Getting off the ground she slowly walked over to the shadows who began jumping with a disturbed glee holding out a hand.

_One of us! Daughter of darkness. _

Just as Red was about to grab the out stretched hand when another sound came flowing down the path, a familiar voice.

…_come fill to me the Parting Glass…_

Pausing she frowned before turning away and heading after the voice, causing the shadows to scream in rage and whisper again. Red ignored them focusing entirely on the sound that was calling to her, the darkness beginning to retreat as the light returned. The shadows howled in pain and fled as she left the forest and arrived at a clearing. Looking around for the source of the sound she saw the red cloaked figure from before sitting on a rock overlooking the forest down below, singing.

"Hey who are you and how do you know that song?" demanded Red, walking over.

The figure turned to her, jumping down from the rock and slowly lowered her hood. Red gasped at the sight of none other then Ruby Rose grinning at her before motioning for Red to follow as she sprinted off into the woods.

"Hey wait stop," Red called, chasing after her.

Red followed her through the forest in a game of cat and mouse until they came to a cave, as Ruby walked in Red hesitated and after a few seconds just sighed as she followed her in, 'this has got to be the stupidest decision I've ever made.' As she walked in she stopped mid stride looking around in complete shock, 'was that really her? Wait where am I?' she thought in disbelief. She wasn't in a cave but instead on the roof of Beacon and in front of her was herself talking to Pyrrha and Jaune.

"Nope," replied her double cheerfully. "Jaune courage isn't the absence of fear or despair but rather the strength to conquer them".

Red watched as her double walked up to Jaune and gave him a friendly punch, "besides I don't know of many cowards who would willingly sneak into a school designed to fight monster and full of warriors who could beat the crap out of them".

She gave a little chuckle at that, 'I guess we weren't so different after all, right Jaune?' she thought giving her first real full smile since she ran away. Red jumped as she felt someone tap her shoulder, spinning she saw Ruby grin at her before running out the door back into the main building.

"What the? Hey! Get back here!" she yelled in pursuit.

Running after her Red nearly tripped as she leapt over a sleeping bag that had suddenly appeared in front of her. 'Why are there sleeping bags in the ballroom?' she wondered looking around.

"Hel-looooo! I believe you two may know each other?" came a cheerful call.

Red looked to her side in surprise, there was Yang dragging a struggling Ruby to Blake. 'Oh I remember now, this is where I first met Blake, I mean where Ruby first met Blake,' she realized. Watching from the distance Red snickered at Yang's failed attempt to talk to the Faunus, however she stopped seeing Ruby come forward.

"What's it about?" she asked, curious.

Seeing Blake's confused expression she elaborated, "Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body," explained Blake hesitantly.

Red looked up in surprise, "I can relate to that," she mumbled grimly.

"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" said Yang sarcastically.

Ruby ignored her and smiled, "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"

Red laughed, "Yeah you did it so much Yang had to threaten you to go to bed."

Blake gave her own little chuckle, "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

Ruby nodded, "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

Red flinched remembering the incident at Forever Falls, 'if it wasn't for her I would have let him die, I'm truly a monster,' she thought depressed.

"That's... very ambitious for a child," she said, smiling however the smile quickly was replaced with a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

Red nodded, "we know that better than most, don't we Blake," she said, her hands shaking slightly.

Ruby didn't seem affected by it, "Well, that's why we're here! To make it better."

Red froze, staring at her hands as they stopped trembling, "to make it better huh?" she mused her mind elsewhere.

Snapping out of her daze she looked up and found herself in a cave, this time with her double and Cardin. Joining the two of them, she sat around the fire listening to the conversation.

Her double gave an encouraging smile, "Look Cardin, the way I see it every life is a pile of good and bad things and while the good things don't always soften the bad things, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

'Did I really say that?' she thought confused.

Red watched as her clone put a hand on Cardin's shoulder, "remember the good times you had with them, but don't let the bad things taint their memories. If you can stop living in the past then maybe you'll be able to recreate those happy times with your friends now, after all it's called the present for a reason," finished the copy.

Red blinked and instantly fell down as the camp fire disappeared, she was back in the clearing where this game of cat and mouse had started. Sitting down on the rock was the girl she was chasing all this time, staring at her with a hopeful expression. Jumping down from the rock Ruby walked over to her and held out a hand to Red.

"I guess we should learn to follow our own advice huh?" she said amused, accepting the help up.

Ruby smiled and, to Red's great surprise, began to glow a beautiful red light before dissolving into rose petals in front of her.

"Thanks Ruby," she said, watching the petals fly away, a grateful smile on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok I know some people might be angry at how easy Yang went down but you need to realise that Red designed that weapon to deal with Yang specifically and no matter how strong you are if you go up against something designed to stop you chances are you're going to lose. Also God damn it RT you couldn't have released that episode last week before I decided on what the modification would be I originally wanted to make it so she could electrocute anything she touched but decided there was no way dust would work with clothes. Anyway rant done hope you all like the new chapter the next one will be the end of this arc. <strong>


	16. Sisters

**Hey guys I'm sorry to say this will be my last update for awhile, I have my first serious case of writer's block. I don't want to start volume two yet because it's still ongoing and instead I want to do another non canon arc but right now I only have half formed ideas so unfortunately it will be a while. Anyway I hope you all like the conclusion to my first non canon arc.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't have to think up things for the disclaimer. **

* * *

><p>Team RWBY and JNPR were gathered around their table listening to the retelling of the recent mission as they attempted to eat. Unfortunately they were so captivated by the story that most of their food was cold long before they finished it, even the stoic Ren had an interested expression on his face as they listened.<p>

"Wow she was able to take down both Blake and Yang!" exclaimed Jaune in admiration.

"She caught us by surprise and we underestimated her," defended Blake.

"Don't forget the Headmaster originally wanted to send you after her, how do you think that would have gone Vomit Boy?" commented Yang.

Jaune paled at this and even Pyrrha and Ren looked a bit uncomfortable, Nora in contrast began jumping up and down on her chair.

"That would have been awesome I've never fought Ruby before, hey Ren we should ask Ozpin to let us fight her it'll be fun!" said the excitable ginger.

"Nora you're scaring Jaune," sighed Ren, pointing to the blonde knight whom looked ready to faint at the thought.

"Trust me Nora you do not want to be on the receiving end of that scythe," shuddered Blake to which Yang nodded, both remembering the pain from the shock.

"Still what could have happened to her to make Ruby want to kill someone?" asked Pyrrha concerned.

"Apparently Roman made some kind of deal with her so she'd work for him," replied Blake.

"What could he have promised that would be worth so much to her that she'd kill to get it?" wondered Pyrrha disturbed.

"I don't think she was serious about that," answered Jaune.

As everyone turned to look at him confused he continued, "Think about it she could have killed Tukson by shooting him instead of close up, all that does is provide more chances for him to escape. Secondly she could have killed Blake while she was unconscious and she didn't even bother chasing after Tukson once he got away. That's not something that you would do if you seriously wanted to kill someone."

"I think there's more to it than that Jaune," replied Pyrrha.

"She could have just not wanted to attract attention, Crescent Rose is quite loud after all," suggested Weiss.

"Okay so what about sparing Blake and abandoning her target," he argued back.

"She was probably on a time constraint, it's quite common for assassins to have a set time frame to get in and out of a location," informed Blake.

"Jaune I know you don't want to believe it, neither do I after she helped us, but I think we need to accept that there is more to her than meets the eye," consoled Pyrrha.

"I guess," came Jaune's weak reply.

"That's only the tip of the iceberg, the interrogation with her and Ozpin was very enlightening," said Weiss in an uncharacteristic eager voice.

Yang gritted her teeth as Weiss began to retell team JNPR of the interrogation to the exact detail, 'damn it Weiss that was meant to stay between us.' As Weiss finished her story the members of JNPR looked at her with mixed expression of shock and sadness, Nora was actually still and quiet as they listened.

"I almost feel sorry for her despite everything she's done," said Pyrrha.

The rest of her team nodded, "can you imagine what it must be like?" asked Jaune, staring down at the untouched food on his plate. "To wake up every morning and see someone else in the mirror staring back at you? To be taken from your home with no way of getting back? To not be able to remember your family or even your own name and worse of all, to know that you've forgotten?" he muttered depressed.

There was silence as they all digested his words, Yang played with her food thinking back to the sobbing girl she saw in the interrogation. She jumped as she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder spinning around the blonde saw Blake looking at her concerned.

"You okay Yang you've been awfully quiet for a while now," she asked.

"Yeah you knew Ruby best what do you think of the situation?" asked a curious Weiss, causing everyone to stare at Yang.

Yang frowned, "What do I think? I think you should all stop talking about something none of you know anything about!" she hissed as she gave them all an evil glare before getting up to leave the cafeteria.

_Tell me Miss Xiao Long, what makes a person who they are?_ Yang frowned, 'I don't know the answer Ozpin, but I think I'm beginning to understand the question.' Walking down the halls of Beacon she made her way to a specific room before knocking.

* * *

><p>Cardin and his team were enjoying a nice relaxing afternoon just playing games on their scrolls and watching TV when a knock came at the door. Dove walked up to the door ready to give whoever it was a piece of his mind for disturbing them when he immediately slammed the door shut again, locking all the locks and ran under the bed. The rest of CRDL looked at each other daring one of them to check it out as the knocking grew louder, eventually they settled on paper scissors rock to decide their fate. Sky was chosen first and like Dove he shut the door, screaming in terror, "she's here," before jumping out the three story window. Cardin and Russel glanced at each with confusion and no small amount of fear as the knocking evolved into loud banging.<p>

"Cardin Winchester, get your ass out here before I get angry," called a familiar voice.

Cardin and Russel became pale as they recognized the voice, "Oh shit it's her okay don't panic we practised for this guys, commence plan Y-Wing," he yelled before they began barricading the door with anything and everything they could find, beds, chairs even tables were dragged in front of the door. They high fived upon seeing the completion of the masterpiece, until they heard the bangs turn into pounds and the barricade began to shake. They both looked at each other before pushing themselves up against the door.

"Hold the barricade damn it! If she gets in we're screwed!" he ordered his remaining teammates as Dove rushed in to help.

"Damn it Cardin! Let me in!" Yang roared as the door shook once again, the outline of it beginning to glow and flames starting to spread into the room.

"GO BACK TO THE ABYISS!" Cardin bellowed at her, causing the flames to grow bigger and hotter.

"Crap! Dove grab the fire extinguisher we'll hold the door!" he said.

"Cardin I just want to talk," she explained.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" he shouted ignoring her.

The door began cracking under the brawlers continued assault, "Cardin we can't hold out for much longer," informed Russel fearfully.

"Alright we've got no choice I'll hold the door as long as possible you guys get out of here," sighed Cardin.

Dove and Russel looked at each other conflicted until Cardin yelled at them, "FLY YOU FOOLS!" They nodded giving him a salute, tears in their eyes before following Sky out the window.

Cardin braced himself as the door stopped shaking and the sound of the pounding ceased, "Cardin I'm being serious here I just want to talk to you about our little red friend that's all, please just open the door," begged Yang.

He frowned, Yang Xiao Long never begs she just takes what she wants from anyone often by force. Taking a deep breath he began removing the remnants of the barricade from the door and unlocked the door.

"Alright Blondie, I'll let you in but no funny businesses," he said, opening the door before taking a seat, making sure to keep his mace close at hand.

* * *

><p>Yang walked into team CRDL's dorm with an expression of shock on her face, the room looked worse than her's the time she'd tried cooking. Furniture was scattered everywhere, most of it burnt, and fire extinguisher foam made it look like it had snowed inside and finally the outside window was shattered.<p>

"Um… what happened here?" she asked Cardin, who was sitting on one of the few intact chairs.

"You did," he replied simply with raised eyebrows.

"Oh right um… really sorry about that," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Just say what you want to say and go already, my team and I need to clean up your mess," he growled.

Yang suppressed a surge of anger and took a seat on one of the beds, "I know you helped her get out of Beacon that day, I want to know why," she explained.

Cardin leaned back in his chair his eyes boring into her's, "do I need a reason to help a friend?" he asked in return.

Yang blinked, 'ok not the answer I was expecting,' she thought confused. Running her fingers through her hair she walked over to the broken window, staring out as the sun began to set in the distance.

"Ok so how did you become friends then?" asked Yang as she leaned against the wall, turning back to face him.

Cardin looked at Yang, sighing as he clasped his hands behind his head, "how much did she tell you about the Forever Fall incident?"

Yang frowned, "just that the two of you had to fight an Ursa major and that you had to stay the night in a cave," she replied thinking back.

Cardin nodded, "while we were in the cave I asked her why she saved me and you know what she said, 'she'd screwed someone over and decided to live out their dreams for them,' a 15 year old said that Yang. Can you imagine the burden she's carrying?"

Cardin got up from his chair and pulled something out of his draw, "next thing I know she's singing, you should have heard her it was full of grief and sadness but also hope," he continued, staring at the object in his hand.

Yang looked at him in confusion as he made his way over to her, "and you know what? Despite all her suffering she decided to help me more than anyone had before, she even covered for me when we went to see Ozpin. So I decided then and there that if she ever needed it she had my help."

Yang shook her head in disbelief, "alright how would you describe her then?" she asked.

Cardin sat back down thinking, "If I was to describe her then she would be like a fae from the old tales, mischievous and fun with her friends but cunning and ruthless to her enemies, but despite this she has a good heart and is fiercely protective of those she cares for," he concluded.

"I see thanks for your time Cardin I appreciate it," she said, making her way to the door.

"Yang wait!" called Cardin getting up, causing her to spin around.

Walking over to her he took a deep breath, "look I don't know what's going on between you two but listen no fight is worth losing your sibling over, trust me I learnt that the hard way," he said giving the object in his hand one last look before putting it on the desk.

* * *

><p>Red yawned from her recent nap and tried to grab the now cold mug of coffee but it was just out of her reach thanks to the damn handcuffs, 'he probably put it there on purpose the bastard,' she thought angrily. Giving up she was about to return to her attempts to break the cuffs when the door opened. Looking up Red immediately jumped to her feet only to be yanked back down by the cuffs.<p>

"You here to gloat?" she asked, unimpressed.

Yang didn't respond and instead took the seat across from Red, placing a tray of cookies on the table she just looked at her. Seeing no indication either way from Yang and her aura giving no warnings she cautiously reached for a cookie. Keeping an eye on the brawler at all times Red quickly grabbed a cookie, sniffed it a couple of times before eating it. After waiting a few minutes with no ill effects Red began grabbing them by the truckload and in the space of five minutes the entire tray was gone. Throughout it all Yang said nothing just watching her with an expression she'd never seen before.

"Um… so how much of the dorms did you break to make these," she joked, attempting to provoke a response from the blonde.

Again Yang said nothing and just watched her causing Red to flinch under her gaze. 'Ok this is getting kind of creepy,' she thought, her hand stroking her neck.

"Why do you do that?" asked Yang.

Red jumped, "do what?" she asked, confused.

"Clutch your neck like that, you did the same thing when we met before," responded the blonde.

Red just glared at her before taking her cloak off revealing long burn marks and bruises along her neck. Yang frowned and looked away upon seeing them, recognizing the cause. Red gave a dark chuckle as she replaced her cloak.

"You think that's bad huh? That's after my aura healed them, it was a lot worse when I first got them that's for sure," she said wincing slightly, a guilty look crossing Yang's face at this.

"So… how's Ember Celica doing? It looked like Crescent Rose did quite a number on it," asked Red, hoping to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Still broken I haven't been able to fix it yet," came the gruff reply, dashing Red's hopes on the rocks.

Red just sighed, "Alright Yang why don't you tell me why you're here, I doubt it was just a social visit."

Yang nodded, "Weiss told me what you did, at first I thought she was lying but then I saw the footage. You dived in front of a truck to save me, why?" she asked, confused.

Red looked up at the ceiling frowning, "I don't know I wasn't thinking at the time, I just saw you in danger and my body moved by itself," she finished, shrugging.

The brawler looked at her with a conflicted expression before sighing, "I spoke to Cardin he seems to think pretty highly of you," she said, causing Red to focus on her. "Which means that you wouldn't work with Roman for money. So why did you?"

'So that's it,' thought Red sighing.

"It doesn't matter I lost anyway," she muttered depressed.

"Winning isn't everything," replied the brawler.

"It's just the only thing that matters," shot back Red.

"True but sometimes you have to ask yourself, was it worth it?" said Yang.

Red looked at her in surprise before a thoughtful expression crossed her face. The silence between them grew until she took a deep breath at looked up at Yang.

"Yang do you remember the time you, Ruby and Qrow burnt down Summer's home?" she asked getting a confused nod from the blonde.

"Tell me if you could see it again and relive the happy memories you made there would you? And if so what would you be willing to pay?" she said looking Yang in the eye.

For her part the brawler just looked at her in surprise before her face contorted into a look of concentration. Eventually she just sighed, "I don't know, I don't think anyone could know until they're presented with that choice."

Red stared at her hands as she folded her arms over the table, "Roman promised me that he'd help me go back home to Earth if I worked for him. Funny isn't it, all it took to get me on his side was a meaningless promise he likely never planned to fulfil," she muttered darkly.

Yang was silent as she digested this new information before she got up and headed for the door, turning to face Red as she left, "the desire to see home again isn't meaningless, it's one of the things that makes us human."

Red looked up in confusion as the door shut, leaving her alone with her thoughts, 'what was that about?' she wondered.

* * *

><p>As Yang left the interrogation room she heard clapping coming from behind her, turning around she found herself staring at headmaster Ozpin whom was walking out from the observation room.<p>

"That was a most impressive performance Miss Xiao Long," he said.

"And it was meant to be private, how long were you there for?" she asked, clamping down on her rising temper.

"Since the start," he admitted, shamelessly.

Seeing her enraged face he continued, "Did you really think I'd leave Miss Rose's room unmonitored, especially with someone who has shown to have a vendetta against her?" asked Ozpin, glaring at her.

He dropped he glare quickly however and it was replaced with a smile, "still I am impressed with the way you handled that, thanks to you we have finally made some progress with Miss Rose."

"What are you going to do with her?" she asked, neutrally.

Ozpin looked back to the interrogation room, "I'm going to talk to her see if I can change her mind and help her. Now that we know her motive it's clear she is no danger to the students," informed Ozpin.

"Although I am curious," he said, turning back to Yang. "What brought about this sudden change in attitude?"

She frowned, "I've been thinking about what you told me in your office that day, about what makes a person who they are," she explained.

"Oh," Ozpin smiled, "and what have you found?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Yang looked back at the room, "That you could spend a whole life time trying to solve that question and still not get any closer to the answer. There is no one thing that defines a person, the thing that makes them who they are is simply themselves," she explained.

"So then, how do you tell what a person is like?" queried Ozpin, giving her his full attention.

"You talk to them, you talk to their friends, you find out anything you can about them and after that… you trust your heart to know what to do," she replied walking away.

Ozpin watched her as she left, "you really are her child aren't you Yang Xiao Long," he whispered before walking into the interrogation room.

* * *

><p>To say Red had been surprised by the current events would be a lie, she wasn't surprised she was stunned. First none other than Yang Xiao Long had come to visit her and instead of beating her up she'd given her cookies and they'd just talked. Next Ozpin had showed up and began another question session with her before offering to let her back into Beacon in exchange that he'd be keeping an eye on her. Now she was walking to the cafeteria to get food as if nothing had ever happened, 'how do I get myself into these situations?' she wondered. As she arrived Red heard the cafeteria go silent and felt everyone's eyes fall upon her. Heading to the counter she grabbed a plate of cookies and headed off to a small table by the corner, sighing as she heard whispers and ducking under a piece of fruit thrown at her.<p>

Glaring at the offender she placed her tray on the table and semblanced in front of the student with scythe in hand, "hey do you know why Crescent Rose is red? Here's a clue it's not paint," she said, giving him a slasher smile before walking off.

Sitting down she caught sight of team RWBY and JNPR watching her carefully from across the room, even Jaune had a fearful expression on his face.

"Welcome to Beacon," she muttered.

"Damn Red was that really necessary?" came a voice from in front of her.

Looking up Red smiled, "necessary no, fun yes."

Cardin gave a bark of laughter, "so these seats taken?" he asked.

"I don't know I am kind of popular right now," she said, rolling her eyes.

Giving a snort Cardin and his team took their seats around the table and began arguing about teachers and the recent assignments. Throughout it all Red stayed silent as she listened to the growing banter with a smile on her face, maybe things weren't so bad after all.

* * *

><p>"Um… guys we might have problem here," said Jaune, fearfully pointing to the entrance.<p>

Everyone turned to look and instantly began unknowingly reaching for their missing weapons, there casually strolling into the cafeteria was Ruby Rose. All of them watched as she began grabbing food, the entire room silent.

"Wow I don't think I've ever seen the place this quiet," whispered Yang amazed.

"Well she did take you down and she worked for Roman, I'm not surprised everyone's scared of her," commented Weiss.

"True… wait we were told to keep that a secret, so how did everyone find out," realized Yang.

They all turned to look at JNPR's resident ginger, "Nora did you tell anyone?" asked Ren.

Nora blinked, "silly Ren I wouldn't do that, although I did get lost the halls wondering about it."

"Nora, you think out loud," groaned Ren face palming.

Turning back they watched Ruby dodge some thrown food before glaring at the culprit as she placed her food down. Instead of eating her food she disappeared and reappeared in front of the student with Crescent Rose unleashed. After she terrorized the poor student Jaune looked ready to live up to his nickname as they watched her sit down at the table, briefly catching their stare. Yang frowned as she saw her give a depressed expression before beginning to eat the cookies in her corner.

"I sort of feel sorry for her," admitted Yang, much to the shock of her friends.

"Yang she brought this on herself," reasoned Blake.

"Did she? I'm the one who drove her out of Beacon after all," replied the blonde.

"You didn't cause her to join that criminal Yang, she had a choice and she sold us out for money," argued Weiss.

Yang frowned and said nothing as she just watched team CRDL approach her and for the first time Yang saw a real smile on her face, a Ruby smile. Picking up her plate she turned to her teammates, "come on let's go I've lost my appetite."

They arrived at the dorm and got changed into their causal clothes as Yang brought out the two gauntlets of Ember Celica, one blackened and damaged while the other was shining a brilliant gold.

Blake looked at them frowning, "why haven't you gotten them fixed yet Yang? We have Combat classes tomorrow."

"I can't these were custom made for me, even I don't know all the mechanics behind them," she replied, sadly.

"So what are you going to do about Combat classes?" asked Weiss.

Yang shook her head, "I don't know, I guess I'll just fight bear handed," she said.

"I could fix it."

* * *

><p>"This is it just go in there don't make eye contact and go to sleep, easy," she said, psyching herself up.<p>

Taking a deep breath opened the door to team RWBY's dorm and to her confusion saw them all crowding around Yang. Quietly closing the door behind her she climbed up to Fort Ruby and sat down watching them as they examined Ember Celica, 'what's going on?' she thought in confusion.

"Why haven't you gotten them fixed yet Yang? We have Combat classes tomorrow," asked the Faunus.

"I can't these were custom made for me, even I don't know all the mechanics behind them," responded Yang.

'You would if you'd actually bothered to try instead of letting me… I mean Ruby do all the work,' Red thought grinning.

Weiss looked up at Yang, "so what are you going to do about Combat classes?"

"I don't know, I guess I'll just fight bear handed," she said with a shake of her head.

"I could fix it," Red said meekly.

All of them jumped at the sound of her voice, spinning around they began reaching for their weapons. Seeing this Red grabbed Crescent Rose and jumped down from the bed getting into a combat stance.

"All of you stop!" shouted Yang, causing everyone to lower their weapons. The blonde turned to Red, "what are you doing here?" she asked.

Red sheathed the scythe and met her gaze, "I sleep here remember, apparently Ozpin still thinks I'm part of the team," she answered shrugging.

Weiss and Blake looked at each other clearly uncomfortable with the situation while Yang just nodded.

"What were you saying before?" she asked.

"I said I could fix it for you," sighed Red.

Yang looked at her confused, "is this an apology?" she asked.

Red just shrugged, "that depends, is it working?"

A brief smile crossed Yang's face, "it might be," she replied handing Ember Celica over to Red before turning to her teammates. "Come on let's go relax we have the rest of the day free after all," she said jumping onto her own bed. Weiss and Blake just looked between the two wondering what had just happened.

* * *

><p>Red sighed as she sat down for Combat class noticing a visible ring of empty seats around her, 'well I guess I know what people think of me, no one will disturb me at least.' She placed her hood over her head and intending to get some sleep when she was startled by a voice in her ear.<p>

"Well Miss Rose since you seem to think that this is a waste of time you can go first," ordered a very angry Goodwitch.

Red jumped and came face to face with the professor whom just ordered her onto the stage. She didn't even bother arguing and just sighed again as she trudged up to the stage, ignoring the snickers from the crowd.

"Alright now who wants to volunteer as Miss Rose's sparring partner?" asked Goodwitch.

Immediately the snickers stopped and the room became silent with not one person stepping forward, thanks to team JNPR holding Nora back. Red gave an amused smirk, 'looks like my reputation precedes me.'

"If no one volunteers I will be forced to pick someone," threatened the professor.

"I'll do it," came a familiar voice.

Red gripped her scythe tighter as Yang walked on to the stage with Ember Celica. The professor nodded and walked of the stage, directing everyone to a safe distance. They both got into their stances as the timer and aura levels appeared on the screen.

"So was this your plan all along?" she asked the blonde.

"Actually no I just saw an opportunity and I took it," replied Yang.

Red frowned, "an opportunity to do what?" she asked, confused.

Yang didn't break eye contact, "it's a great irony that the nature of combat always reveals the true nature of those who fight, I'm hoping you don't disappoint me" she replied as the timer reached zero.

Not waiting for Red to take the initiative Yang launched round after round at her, forcing Red to focus on dodging instead of attacking. Seeing the shots were ineffective Yang charged Red whom had to use her scythe as a staff as she blocked blow after blow from the brawler. The dance between them continued until Yang overextended herself with a punch creating an opening for Red. Slamming the scythe blade into the ground she spun around using her momentum along with aura infused muscles to send Yang flying into the wall. Wasting no time she fired the entire clip into the stunned blonde, creating large cracks in the wall. However Red was unprepared for Yang to burst out of the wall with red eyes and flaming hair, as she rapidly closed the distance between them. Snapping out of her stunned daze and unable to reload fast enough Red semblanced out of the way and appeared behind Yang, hitting her with an overhead slash from Crescent Rose. She quickly darted away as Yang threw a punch in retaliation, Red was shocked to see the one punch destroy part of the stage, 'what's going on that was stronger than all the other attacks earlier.' Diving out of the way of another punch Red felt something grab her cloak before she was slammed into the ground, causing her vision to go blurry for a couple of seconds. Unfortunately these couple of seconds were all that Yang needed as she picked up Red and threw her across the stage into the wall.

"You noticed huh?" commented Yang as she approached, her hair getting brighter by the second.

Red coughed as she struggled to her feet, "your punches are getting stronger the more I hit you," she observed.

Yang nodded looking impressed, "did you know there are many different forms of energy, and the force behind a blow is kinetic energy. So you tell me how am I getting stronger?" she quizzed.

A look of understanding crossed Red's face as she gripped Crescent Rose tighter, "you can absorb some of the kinetic energy behind your opponent's hits and use it to power yourself up. Your flames aren't your semblance they're just a by-product of the process as your body quite literally burns off the excess energy that it has stored up from previous fights as heat and light energy. Essentially with each hit you get stronger and you use that energy to fight back," answered Red.

Yang's eyes widened in surprise and she began clapping, "impressive you even figured out how my flames and hair work but now I think it's time for both of us to stop holding back," she said, slamming her fists together.

Red gasped as the flames surrounding Yang disappeared and her hair began to glow brighter than the sun. Acting quickly Red charged the brawler attempting to use her superior speed to catch the blonde by surprise, only to have Yang grab her by the head.

"I told you to stop holding back and I was serious, or are you really just this weak," growled Yang before punching her in the gut and dropping her on the ground.

"Pathetic, you expect to be able to go home with this kind of strength? Such a disappointment, I wonder what your family would say if they saw you now," scoffed the blonde, walking away.

* * *

><p>"Um… don't you think Yang's taking this too far," said Jaune concerned.<p>

"Indeed she was already in the red before Yang did that, she's already won the fight," agreed Ren.

"Why isn't the professor stopping this?" questioned Blake.

All of them nodded in agreement as they watched Yang proceed to beat up her opponent, all of them even Weiss feeling sympathy for the poor girl. Their jaw dropped however as they watched Ruby slowly stagger up and grab Crescent Rose, her body beginning to glow a very dark red instead of the bright vibrant shade they were used to.

"H-How is she standing she barely has enough aura to move," stuttered Pyrrha in shock.

"P-Pyrrha look at her aura levels," said Jaune.

They all looked up at the screen and for the second time in the space of five minutes their jaws hit the floor.

"T-That's not possible," choked out Weiss.

The entire classroom was silent as they watched the screen unable to comprehend what they were seeing, Ruby's aura was increasing at a rapid rate, and already it was back up to yellow.

"There's no way, aura can't regenerate that fast," said Pyrrha.

They watched as Ruby began to steady herself on her scythe and Yang turned around to face her with a pleased look on her face, a sharp contrast to the look of rage on Ruby's. Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>"… I wonder what your family would say if they saw you now."<p>

Red was angry, no she wasn't angry she was fucking furious. 'I'm going to make her pay,' she thought as she struggled to get up. 'Come on move god damn it move!' her body aching in protest. Swaying she slowly picked herself up from the ground and grabbed Crescent Rose as the pain began to fade. Grasping the scythe she walked over to Yang, dragging the blade along the floor. Hearing the noise the blonde turned to look back at her with a pleased grin.

"See I knew you could do it, now let's start the real fight," she cheered.

Red didn't respond and just snarled at her, disappearing in a flash of rose petals. In the space of a few seconds Red grabbed Yang's hair and yanking down on it hard before head butting the blonde in the forehead followed by a kick into the stomach and the firing of Crescent Rose at point blank range. Each blow was accompanied by a flash of red as her aura empowered the hit, causing Yang to stagger. The blonde wasn't stunned for long though as she grabbed the scythe as it was coming in for another swing, seeing this Red activated the electricity trap expecting to see her scream in pain like last time. Instead she got a painful punch to the face as Yang retaliated. Recovering quickly Red looked at her scythe wondering what went wrong, Yang just smiled.

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that!" exclaimed Jaune in shock.<p>

"Ruby's ace up her sleeve, she modified Crescent Rose to electrocute anyone who touches it. Worst of all it can travel down your weapon, that's how she beat me and Yang," explained Blake.

"I didn't know dust could do that," remarked Ren impressed.

"That's because it can't," replied the heiress. Seeing their confused expression she elaborated, "yellow dust utilizes the power of lightning, it is one of the most powerful of all dust types but also one of the most unstable."

She paused to look at Ruby before continuing, "Somehow she's managed to stabilize it so that she could control the output and recognize her aura as friendly, something the Schnee family has failed to do for years," she said with barely concealed envy.

"So then why didn't it work?" asked Jaune curious.

Weiss turned to Jaune in surprise, "you really can't figure it out? You dolt, fine I'll explain it for you then," she grumbled, turning back to watch the fight.

* * *

><p>"Hey did you know what our practice rounds are made of?" asked Yang still smirking.<p>

Red looked up from her scythe understanding dawning in her eyes, "rubber rounds, you really did think of everything," she grudgingly admitted.

Yang nodded before wiping sweat from her eyes, "I don't have much left and you're barely staying up right, what do you say we finish this with one final attack?" she offered.

"Fine it's your funeral," growled Red getting up.

Yang's face immediately became serious and her hair glowing so bright it was almost blinding, her body wreathed in the yellow glow of her aura and a pillar of flames erupting around her. Red reactivated her scythe as a massive sphere of crackling blue electricity surrounded her. Inside the blue sphere the students saw a red light growing brighter by the second. Yang looked briefly surprised before smiling as the two began charging at the other and thus the two unstoppable forces collided with one another. The yellow fiery sun meeting the deceptively calming blue-red storm with a flash of blinding light, the TV and lights shattering and the students being blown off their feet. The light pulsed as each force tried to overcome the other until finally it died down and the students looked up to see Yang standing over her opponent panting.

"Cardin wasn't… lying you… really are fiercely… protective," she panted. Looking down at her unconscious form Yang smiled, "congratulations you pass."

* * *

><p>The fight was all the school talked about for over a week and quite frankly Yang was getting sick of it. Since everyone had decided that Yang was safer than her counterpart she was pestered by many 'adoring fans.' Yang smiled at the irony of the situation people were coming to her because she was the safer of the two now, 'if this was how Ruby felt she has my sympathy.' Yang heard the sound of running coming down from the halls, spinning around she saw a worried Blake approaching her.<p>

"Yang we got a problem Ruby's missing! She left her scroll on the bed and hasn't shown up for any classes," she said exhausted.

Yang frowned, sure she wasn't as welcomed here as others but she wouldn't run away again, would she? Her eyes widened, 'wait a minute how could I forget! Today is the anniversary,' she realized.

"Don't worry Blake I think I know where she is," she assured the Faunus before running down to the docks.

* * *

><p>Red walked into the clearing as snow began falling as she approached the cliff, a bouquet of roses in her hands. Slowly she knelt before the grave and placed the roses in front of the tombstone, getting up she just stared at the grave not really sure what to do.<p>

"Um… hi I know you probably don't know me but I wanted to see you, my name is… well I guess you can just call me Red," she introduced awkwardly.

Taking a deep breath she continued tears forming around her eyes, "I'v - I've done some terrible things and I don't think I'll ever be able to completely wash the blood off my hands."

Red fell down to the ground sobbing, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry for everything. I never wanted any of this I swear, I just wanted to go home," she whimpered.

Red felt someone embrace her from behind, "you know they say that home is where the heart is," soothed a familiar voice.

Red didn't try to break free from the hug and instead cried into Yang's shoulder, the blonde just stroked her hair, "it's okay just let it out," she comforted.

Eventually the tears stopped and Yang let go of Red and made her way over to the grave noting the flowers, "roses were always her favourite," she said approvingly.

"We used to make this trip every year you know, Ruby was the one who suggested it. Then things started getting busy and we had to stop coming. But Ruby never stopped every birthday, every anniversary she would come here and tell her all about it, every time she had a problem she'd come here to ask for help," explained Yang not looking up from the grave.

Red joined her as they stared at the grave in silence, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind, "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you especially for what I said earlier, you didn't deserve it," apologized Yang.

Red flinched, "no you were right my family would be horrified by what I've done, I've killed Yang, KILLED!," she choked out holding back the tears.

Yang threw an arm around Red's shoulder, "So? Your past doesn't define who you are, it just gives you the starting point for who you're going to be," consoled the blonde.

The brawler gave her a smile, "listen I should have said this a long time ago, welcome to the family Ruby Rose."

Red froze and looked up at the smiling blonde, "are… are you sure?" she asked in disbelief.

Yang nodded, "only Ruby would do something like this and whether I like it or not she lives on inside you, I've seen it."

The blonde turned back to the grave, "besides I think this is what she'd want."

Red was shocked and looked at Yang as the snow continued to fall and the wind began picking up, the older sibling smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Come on sis we'd better get back we don't want Ozpin getting worried now do we," she said, dragging a stunned Red.

"Thanks… sis," replied Red, unable to keep tears back any longer.

As the two walked away nether noticed a white cloaked figure near the grave watching them, smiling the figure began to dissolved into thin air leaving not a trace behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Well how did you like it? I decided to send the arc out with a Yang! (I'm sorry I couldn't help it). Also I pretty much promised you all Yang vs Red battle and I keep my promises besides that last one was a bit anti-climatic. Also out of curiosity what has been your favourite chapter so far and why? For me it was a toss up between this one (I loved writing Yang as the Balrog) and chapter 9 with Cardin and Red. It's weird I actually hate Cardin in the show but I really enjoy writing him in the story... go figure huh.<strong>


	17. The King, The Queen and the Pawn

**Hey guys so thankfully an idea I was tossing around before I started the first non canon arc has finally begun to take shape (also this will probably be the last non canon arc before season 2). A special thanks to Tommy 2486 for helping me iron out the idea and for being a beta for this chapter.**

**StormFire: Glad to hear it, that means I must be doing something right at least.**

**I don't own RWBY as much as I'd want to.**

* * *

><p>It was a darkened room where each party was meeting, both had agreed that the less through traffic the better. Roman sighed as he stood there waiting with two henchmen for his new potential business partners. They were 20 minutes late and it was starting to piss him off, 'well they definitely have the arrogance now we just have to hope they have the power to back it up.' Suddenly the sound of the door opening snapped him out of his thoughts, his henchman immediately drew their weapons on the door, only to fall to the ground with holes in their chests.<p>

"You know that wasn't very nice, I paid good money to Junior for those two," he said amused.

"You were going to kill them anyway after this meeting, I was just saving you the effort," replied the heavily armoured figure as it strolled into the room.

"True," conceded Roman as they took their seats.

"So," began the figure, "I've been told you want access to our products, the question is what can you offer us?"

Roman nodded, "we have lots of manpower, vehicles, influence, multiple android models and more dust then we know what to do with. Take your pick," he said smugly.

The figure leaned over the table, "my organization is willing to work with you but first you need to do something for us."

"Oh," said Roman surprised, "and what might that be?"

The figured took out a photograph and handed it to Roman, "we want her," it stated.

He looked down at it and his eyes narrowed, "why do you want her?" he asked, suspicious.

The figure took back the photo and leaned back into his chair, "that doesn't concern you Roman. You get her for us and my superiors and I can guarantee that we will share a long and profitable business relationship."

Roman raised his eyebrows, "very well how do we contact you when we have her?" he asked.

The figure got up, "don't worry Roman once you have her we'll contact you," it reassured him.

Roman watched as the figure left the building a frown on his face, he had been in this game for a long time and knew when he was getting a raw deal. Still Cinder said to get their support so he had no choice in the matter, but why ask for her, no scratch that, how did they even know about her? He sighed, looked like the only way to answer this question was to ask her himself.

"Well Little Red looks like we'll be seeing each other again real soon," he muttered.

* * *

><p>"Checkmate," said Red smirking.<p>

The poor student looked devastated as he placed his lien in the hat and moved back onto the growing sea of people. Cardin grinned and stood up on the table while Red reset the chess board.

"Come one come all, test your skill against the Red Reaper of Beacon. Win a single game against Red here and you'll get everything in the hat. The total is now up to 500 lien, imagine what you could buy with that kind of money. Price for a game is 5 lien, for three games it's 10, a bargain that you would have to be mad not to take advantage of," he shouted.

"How do we know you're not cheating?" demanded another student.

"Because this is chess, there is no chance involved in the game, it is impossible to cheat," explained a smug Red.

"That is correct Miss Rose but I would like to know why you and Mister Winchester here have decided to start up this stall. Surely you are aware that gambling for money is not allowed here at Beacon," came an amused voice.

The crowd of students split as Ozpin walked over to the two of them, sipping his coffee as he stood in front of them. Cardin had a panicked look on his face while Red just calmly staring back at the headmaster grinning.

"Well headmaster the purpose of Beacon is to educate the students correct? We are merely helping our peers by teaching them a very valuable lesson," she replied.

"Oh and what might that be?" asked Ozpin intrigued.

"Simple, is the risk worth the reward? After all it is our job, no our duty, as team leaders to educate our fellow students of this, is it not? If they don't learn this people could die and the only way we could think of getting this message to stick was by taking things from them, specifically money," lied Red.

"True, well then let's see how well you've learnt that lesson shall we?" he challenged, a small grin on his face as he sat in the empty chair.

"What do you mean?" she said, suspicious.

"A simple game of chess. If you win I'll let you two continue this stall, but if I win you have to donate the money to the school's new construction project, deal?" he offered holding out his hand.

Red frowned looking at his hand, 'he knows about my aura, Yang told me so. So why is he doing this? Maybe he doesn't know that it works outside of combat.' After debating for a good minute she smiled and shook his hand.

"You've got yourself a deal."

* * *

><p>Yang walked over to her friends as they crowded around the table, "hey you guys seen Ruby anywhere?"<p>

Blake looked over to her as she sat down, "she left the dorms early in the morning and before you ask no I don't know why, I saw her talking to Cardin before they left but haven't seen her since," she said.

Weiss looked up in concern at this, "maybe we should go find her, it doesn't fill me great hope that a criminal is walking around Beacon unsupervised."

Yang looked at her frowning, "Weiss I told you to stop that, she's not as bad as we first thought."

"Ok ok," said the heiress, throwing up her hands, "I'll be nicer but I still don't trust her."

The blonde just sighed and turned to her food, team JNPR looked at each other in concern as the silence grew.

"So… did you guys hear? The schools got a new construction project going on," informed Jaune, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.

"Indeed they're building a proper combat arena out of the old amphitheatre," said Blake.

"Really why? We have a combat room already," asked Yang confused.

"After that room got destroyed twice, by the same people no less, the school decided that instead of repairing it constantly they'd build a proper arena," answered Pyrrha with a smile.

Yang gave a sheepish grin, "well that place was getting cramped anyway."

They all laughed and started eating as more and more people left the cafeteria. Eventually the room became too quiet and they looked around in confusion, the place was nearly deserted and it was lunch time. They watched as someone ran into the cafeteria and quickly grabbed their friends before dragging them out into the hallways.

Yang frowned, "come on guys whatever's attracting everyone has got to be more interesting than lunch," she said.

They all nodded and followed the group of students to the court yard where a large amount of students had surrounded something. A whispered 'oo' and 'ah' could be heard from the crowd as they approached.

"You don't think Ruby has anything to do with this do you?" asked Jaune, concerned.

"Oh please what're the odds of that," dismissed Yang with a wave of her hand.

* * *

><p>The game had been going for an hour and Red could honestly say that without her aura she would have lost within the first five minutes. Even with her aura she was only just able to hold Ozpin off as each assault became worse and worse. 'Damn it! How is he doing this? I should have beaten him by now,' she thought, sweat dripping down the back of her neck.<p>

"Tell me Miss Rose, why do you think the King, the objective of the game, is the most impotent piece on the board?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Red frowned as she moved her Rook to take his Bishop, "it's so you keep him safe and don't charge him ahead like most do with the Queen," she replied.

"That is one answer," nodded Ozpin.

"In a sense the King in chess is like the king in life, his existence is depends on keeping his forces intact and his people on his side. He is a hostage to his people's continued happiness," he concluded, taking her Knight with his own.

Red ran her fingers through her hair, the first signs of stress beginning to appear, 'I needed that piece! What is going on? I'm listening to my aura but it's not working,' she thought frustrated as he took another piece.

"What is your favourite piece Miss Rose?" he said, staring at her.

Confused she leaned back into her chair, "the Queen," she replied, taking his Knight.

Ozpin smiled, "Interesting and why is that?" he asked.

Red shrugged, "it's the most powerful piece, and whoever loses their Queen first usually loses the game because of it."

"I see, so you value it for its power and practicality," he commented amused before taking her Pawn with his Queen.

Red's eyes bulged and she spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out the trap, finding none she looked back to him. "Why would you waste your Queen on a lowly Pawn?" she asked, confused as she took his Queen.

"Do you know what my favourite piece is Miss Rose?" asked Ozpin, ignoring her while he began attacking with his Rook.

"No Headmaster I don't," she answered with a shake of her head, while blocking off his Rook with her own.

"My favourite is the Pawn," he answered, taking a sip from his now cold coffee.

Red raised her eyebrows in surprise, "but headmaster Pawns are-"

"Weak, small and often exchanged for little to no tactical gain," interrupted the headmaster.

"Well… yeah so why pick them?" she asked, confused.

Ozpin picked up one said piece and held it out in front of him smiling, "because they have no real power and instead have to rely on nothing but their own determination and unswerving loyalty."

Placing the piece back on the board he moved it forward, "is it not strange how often, in the latter stages of the game, the King finds himself abandoned by his Queen, his religious advisors, his castles and his knights, yet defended by a few loyal Pawns?" he asked, rhetorically as Red took his last Bishop.

"The humble Pawn is often forgotten, mistreated and regularly sacrificed in pursuit of strategies of which they may not have even been aware, but despite this Pawns somehow always manage to be there at the end game," said the headmaster picking up his Pawn.

"Well Miss Rose I believe this is checkmate," he said moving the piece to the end of the board, turning it into a Queen. "You should never underestimate Pawns they will often surprise you."

Red just stared at the board, unable to comprehend what had just happened, 'how did I lose? I did everything my aura told me to!'

"You look surprised Miss Rose, you see the problem with blindly following your prediction ability is that it makes you yourself predictable," explained Ozpin, getting up from the chair.

"Predictable?" she repeated, confused.

He nodded, "you always pick the best option for the current situation on the basis that your opponent will react logically to this choice. But if the opponent knew this they could set up traps in advance knowing how you would react to their every move or in this case act illogically such as throwing a Queen away," elaborated the headmaster.

"No ability is infallible Miss Rose, you would do well to remember that," he said, turning around and walking away the students parting before him.

"Oh and one more thing Miss Rose, I thank you for the generous donation and expect to see you and Mr Winchester in detention with Prof. Goodwitch. Have a pleasant day," he called as he disappeared into the school building.

Red and Cardin looked at each other pale, detention sessions with Prof. Goodwitch had a very bad reputation. 'I think I should start writing a will now,' she thought fearfully.

To this day no one knows what happened to Red and Cardin in detention, only that they both came back to their dorms pale faced and unable to sleep for three nights. Whenever they were asked what had happened an expression of pure horror would cross their faces before they curled up into the fetal position muttering incomprehensible words.

* * *

><p>Weiss was walking down the halls of Beacon when she heard the sound of music coming from the courtyard, her curiosity getting the better of her she followed it to a crowd of cheering students. 'What's going on here?' she thought confused. Her question was answered when she spotted Ruby and Cardin surrounded by numerous instruments, Ruby was on the guitar and Cardin on drums.<p>

…_They see you as small and helpless…_

Her eyes widen in surprise, 'I didn't know Ruby could play guitar, Yang said she knew piano but not guitar,' she thought impressed. Placing the guitar on the stand Ruby waved to the crowd getting another cheer from them, "hope you guys are enjoying yourselves, remember to place some lien in the hat if you'd like to see more."

Smiling Ruby looked out over the crowd, "ok now the next song is going to be a different slower song, it's a song from where I come from," she said much to the crowd's confusion.

'Must be from Earth,' realized Weiss suddenly intrigued as she got closer.

"And I need a volunteer to sing for us, Weiss is that you? Perfect! You can sing right?" exclaimed Ruby upon seeing her.

Weiss froze, she hadn't sung since the incident at White Castle. Still it would be interesting to see what Earth songs are like, shrugging she walked up to the stage and grabbed the mic from Ruby.

"Thanks Weiss here's the lyrics and don't worry you'll get the rhythm fairly easily, just follow the melody," informed Ruby, handing her a sheet of paper.

Weiss nodded and Ruby walked over to a nearby keyboard, taking a deep breath the heiress waited until a slowly melody started, immediately quieting the crowd before beginning, hear voice melding with the notes.

_Hope can drown lost in thunderous sound_  
><em>Fear can claim what little faith remains<em>

_But I carry strength from souls now gone_  
><em>They won't let me give in...<em>

_I will never surrender_  
><em>We'll free the Earth and sky<em>  
><em>Crush my heart into embers<em>  
><em>And I will reignite...<em>  
><em>I will reignite<em>

_Death will take those who fight alone_  
><em>But united we can break a fate once set in stone<em>

_Just hold the line until the end_  
><em>Cause we will give them hell...<em>

_I will never surrender_  
><em>We'll free the Earth and sky<em>  
><em>Crush my heart into embers<em>  
><em>And I will reignite...<em>  
><em>I will reignite...<em>  
><em>I will reignite.<em>

The students were quiet as the music died down and Weiss felt a tear run down her face, 'if that is just what the music of Earth is like then their culture must be incredible.' Ruby walked over to her with a smile and dry eyes, much to heiress' amazement.

"That was very well done Weiss, I don't think I've ever heard anyone sing it that well before," she complimented her partner.

The heiress nodded, "thanks… um Ruby when you have free time could you tell me more about Earth?" she asked, hopefully.

Ruby looked surprised at this before smiling, "sure thing Ice Queen, but first we need to pack up the equipment, don't won't to get in trouble now do we?"

"I'm afraid it's a bit late for that Miss Rose after all busking on school grounds is forbidden," came a reply.

Ruby and Cardin paled as they stared at something behind her, turning she found herself facing the headmaster.

"It would seem you two are slow learners perhaps another session with Prof. Goodwitch would fix that," he commented.

Ruby grew whiter than her at this point while Cardin just fainted outright, "n-no headmaster that won't be necessary," she stuttered, terrified.

"I see, then your choices are donating the money to the school or another detention session, which will it be?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Ruby didn't even hesitate, "here take the money," she screamed, thrusting the lien into his face.

Weiss looked shocked at this, there had to be at least 300 lien in there why would anyone ever give that up to get out of a detention? Ozpin smiled as he took the container off them and Ruby began to have colour return to her face again.

"You know Headmaster it's strange, over the past week you always seem to show up just as we're about to end, it's almost as if you're waiting until we get the most money we can before taking it," joked Ruby.

Ozpin just turned to look at her smiling, "you're getting smarter everyday Miss Rose," before walking off, humming a merry tune.

Weiss watched as Ruby blinked and a look of sheer rage crossed her face, screaming she grabbed Crescent Rose and preceded to chop down a tree before storming off. Leaving Weiss and an unconscious Cardin to pack up the instruments.

Two days later the new combat arena was completed three weeks ahead of schedule, when asked how it was completed so quickly the headmaster replied that it was due to numerous donations throughout the week made by an anonymous benefactor. Most assumed that it was the Schnee Company wanting to improve their daughter's schooling experience and didn't give it a second thought.

* * *

><p>It was a good day for the citizens of Vale, the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. Red followed the rest of her team to the as they walked down the streets lead by Blake.<p>

"Hey guys why did you drag me out here?" asked Red, curiously as she balanced on a guard rail.

"Because we've had it with you dragging us into your scams that always fail," replied the heiress.

"It was only one time Ice Queen and I said I was sorry! Besides they don't always fail," argued Red defensively, glaring at her teammate.

"Oh really?" replied Weiss crossing her arms. "Tell me one time you and Cardin actually succeeded in getting the money."

"She has a point sis, besides what do you even need the money for anyway?" agreed Yang.

She shot Yang a betrayed look, "well all the stores have specials on now thanks to the festival, so I thought I could stock up on supplies while they're cheap," explained Red.

Weiss gave her an approving nod, "I see, Crescent Rose must go through a fair amount of ammunition due to your fighting style," she theorized.

Red shuffled her feat, "err… yeah ammunition that's what I meant, definitively not cookies or anything like that," she replied, chuckling nervously.

The rest of team RWBY just looked at her in disbelief before each shock their heads muttering something as they walked on. She just shrugged and jumped down from the rail following them, 'this place looks familiar,' she thought looking around.

"So where are we going?" she asked Blake.

The black themed girl glanced at her, "to see someone," she replied, gruffly.

Red frowned, "three words, we're making progress," she said, bitterly.

The Faunus just shot her a glare before rolling her eyes and continuing on, 'great job Red, annoy the person already angry at you,' she thought sighing. While her relationship with Yang had done a complete 180 and Weiss had become tolerable, the rest still treated her with suspicion or in Jaune's case outright terror. Nora hadn't seemed to change much but Red always found the ginger keeping one eye on her at all times when she was around, but whether it was from fear or curiosity she couldn't tell. However Blake was the worst, she openly showed hostility to her whenever possible. When she asked Yang about it the blonde had told her that Tukson was an old friend of her's and that she should just give the Faunus some time.

"We're here," announced Blake.

Red looked up and her eyes widened as she immediately turned and began walking away, "you guys have fun I'm goin- erk," she chocked as Yang grabbed her by the hood.

"Oh no you don't Ruby, you're coming in with us," she said, smirking.

Ignoring her protests the blonde picked her up and threw her over her shoulder before following Blake and Weiss inside.

"Yang this is a very bad idea," she said, fearfully.

"Sis if you want Blake to forgive you then this is the way to go," explained the blonde.

"Oh yeah what am I supposed to say, hi sorry about trying to kill you before but I was in a really dark place, so let's forgive and forget," she exclaimed, sarcastically.

"Yes," replied Yang seriously, "Ruby you need to at least show you're sorry for what you've done."

"Alright Yang you've made your point," sighed Red.

The brawler placed her back on the ground and Blake rang the bell, "Tukson get out here someone needs to talk to you."

All of them looked at each other when no response came causing Blake ring the bell again, "Tukson it's me Blake are you okay?" she called.

Red frowned as she felt something weird in the room, it was confusing her aura. Tuning out a now panicking Blake she focused on the feeling of wrongness in the room, tracing it back to its source. There! In the corner of the room was the source of the problem, except turning around showed there was nothing there. 'No something is there, but it's hidden,' she realized. Deploying her scythe, much to the shock of her teammates, she walked over to the corner and jabbed the area with the blunt end of Crescent Rose. Everyone jumped as the sound of breaking glass was heard followed by cracks appearing in the corner before the illusion was shattered. All of their eyes widened as a bleeding Tukson suddenly appeared in the previously empty corner, quickly rushing over to him Red checked his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief, it was there but barely.

"Weiss call the ambulance, Yang check the rest of the store, make sure whoever did this isn't still around," she ordered.

Both of them nodded and went to the chosen tasks as Red turned to see a horrified Blake froze in place, "Blake? Blake snap out of it!" yelled Red slapping the Faunus.

"I need you to stabilize him until the paramedics arrive. You're the only one here who has any sort of medical training," she said.

Blake nodded and ran over to him with Weiss as they informed the paramedics of the condition, Red frowned and gripped her scythe tighter as Yang approached and reported an all clear. The blonde looked at her with concern, "you ok Red?" she asked.

"Yeah just one problem," she answered, turning on the brawler.

Suddenly Red punched her in the gut sending her flying into the wall, "You're not Yang," she finished.

'Yang' smiled and the image shattered to reveal a girl wearing a white and pink coat, black pants and undershirt and holding an umbrella.

"So it wasn't a fluke you really can see through them, how interesting now I see why he was so fascinated with you," she commented.

"What are you talking about and what have you done with my sister!" demanded Red angrily.

The girl smiled, "Blondie is currently trying to figure out where the door went, now if you'll excuse me," she said, bowing as she twirled the umbrella in front of her.

"Yeah like I'd let you get away," growled Red.

Charging she brought the blunt end of Crescent Rose down on the girls head intending to knock out the attacker, only for the girl to shatter in front of her. Red's eyes widened, 'how? I didn't even notice the switch!'

Turning she looked back at Weiss and Blake, "can you both look after Tukson? I need to check on Yang," she asked, quickly, they both nodded and Red ran off to find Yang.

* * *

><p>Neo stood on the roof watching the store as the police and paramedics arrived, she frowned it looked like the traitor would survive again. She knew Earth aura was good at detection but never expected it to see through her illusions. Neo smirked, 'if she's distracted however then I'll have no problems fooling her.' Still Roman would be interested to hear what had happened because despite the failure they now knew where Red was hiding.<p>

"I'll be seeing you again soon," said Neo, a Cheshire grin on her face as she watched them walk away.

* * *

><p>After the incident at the bookshop team RWBY were immediately brought to Ozpin's office for a debriefing.<p>

"How did you know that the illusion was there?" asked Ozpin curious.

Red just shook her head, "it was weird, somehow it was messing with my aura. I just felt wrong in that room, not bad or good just like something wasn't quite right. It was like looking through two pairs of eyes each showing different things," she explained.

Ozpin nodded, "and she was able to disguise herself as Miss Xiao Long?"

Red just nodded, "yes and she wasn't giving off as big of a feeling as Tukson was, if she hadn't of tipped me off I never would have noticed."

Ozpin leaned onto his desk, "that is troubling and what do you mean, tipped you off?"

Red frowned, "she called me Red, Yang never does that," she explained.

Everyone turned to look at her in amazement, "that is most impressive Miss Rose," commended the headmaster.

Blake took a couple of steps forward, "Headmaster what happened to Tukson?" she asked, worriedly.

Ozpin's expression softened into a grateful smile, "he'll live thankfully, you all found him just in time. He's being placed into witness protection for his own safety and has been giving us lots of information about the White Fang."

"It won't matter," replied Red, "Roman would have begun changing locations as soon as he found out about the traitor."

Ozpin nodded in agreement, "sadly you're right, every warehouse we've searched has been emptied."

He leaned back into his chair, "is there anything else you want to tell me?" he asked.

Red sighed, "She was most likely high up in command or maybe even Roman's right hand man so to speak."

Ozpin raised his eyebrows, "why do you think that Miss Rose? Do you know her?"

She shook her head in response, "no but she called me Red, very few people in the White Fang knew that and most were very close to Roman."

"I see," frowned the headmaster, "thank you for the information, you are all dismissed."

As they left the office and headed back to the dorms Red turned to face them, "you guys go on ahead I'm going to be back late tonight," she informed them, getting a nod from both Weiss and Yang as they headed off.

Blake however didn't move, 'here it comes the usual, I'm watching you so don't try any funny business speech,' sighed Red as she braced herself.

"Thank you," came the response instead.

Red blinked, "what?" she asked in complete confusion.

"Thank you, he would have died without you," said Blake before turning around heading back to the dorm.

"Err… you're welcome?" muttered Red as the Faunus disappeared around the corner.

Red shrugged before walking off, "what a day," she sighed, exhausted.

* * *

><p>Neo walked into the hide out with a skip in her step, ignoring the hostile looks she received from the White Fang members present she headed over to Roman.<p>

He turned to look at her with an angry expression, "Neo you damn well better have a good reason for why that traitor is still alive. Cinder's pissed and when Cinder's pissed I'm pissed," he growled.

Neo just smiled as she recounted the events that took place in the bookshop, Roman's expression immediately turning from one of anger to intrigued as he smiled.

"So our Little Red can see through your illusions can she and she's been hiding this whole time at Beacon? That girl always finds new ways to surprise me," he said, grinning.

Neo shrugged, "so what do we do now?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, "for now we do nothing and just watch her. We can't take chances here, not with her. We'll wait for an opportunity to present itself," he ordered.

She nodded and headed for her room, her Cheshire grin returning as she pictured the games she would play with the huntress.

"I can't wait."

* * *

><p><strong>Ok so first chapter of the new arc is done. Unfortunately my holidays have ended so I won't be able to update as much. I'll try to keep it going as weekly updates but no promises unfortunately sorry guys.<strong>


	18. Smoke and Mirrors

**So that new episode was something huh? We finally get to see some of Yang and Ruby's back story as well as our first glimpse of Qrow which makes me very excited to see him. However since Summer apparently is just missing not confirmed dead I will be pissed if she's still alive despite this good job RT. Man this chapter took for ages to write, there's no way I'll be able to continue weekly updates with my work load sorry guys. I'll work on chapters when I can but there is not set deadline anymore. Ok thanks to Tommy again for the inspiration for this chapter without it you would probably be waiting another week for the chapter.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did Jaune would get over Weiss already.**

* * *

><p>'It really is a beautiful night,' thought Red, inhaling deeply. She rarely saw such a peaceful, clear star lit night back home, the big cities made sure of that. Red really loved the view from the top of Beacon's towers, they were a challenge to reach and always rewarding afterwards. Her own private little sanctuary where she could be alone with her thoughts, though Red suspected Ozpin knew about it since she had often found a mug of hot coffee left unattended for her when she arrived. <em>How interesting now I see why he was so fascinated with you…<em> Red frowned, 'what did she mean by that?' she wondered looking at the sky. Unfortunately she was snapped out of her thoughts when the sound of clashing metal reached her, causing Red to jump and reach for Crescent Rose. Looking down to the roof she relaxed and smiled, watching as Jaune and Pyrrha began there sparring session. She was surprised by Jaune's progress, he was by no means a master and was full of openings but he had definitely improved since he'd started. Red blinked, 'once upon a time the only weapons I ever used were in video games, now I'm walking around with an anti-material sniper scythe and critiquing other's fighting styles. How times have changed,' she thought with a rueful smile. Jumping down from her sanctuary she headed to the roof as the two members of team JNPR finished sparring, neither noticing her approach as they engaged the other in conversation. 'This is going to be fun,' she grinned.

Quietly she snuck up on the duo as they were chatting before taking a deep breath, "LOOK OUT NEVERMORE!" she yelled in their ears.

Both of them jumped with Jaune letting out a girly scream as he fell to the ground and Pyrrha spinning around, Miló and Akoúo̱ drawn on Red. Despite the weapons pointed at her face Red couldn't help but fall to the ground, rolling in laughter.

"Oh my God that scream was perfect, you should have seen your faces," she struggled out between gasps.

Pyrrha looked at her unamused but sheathed her weapons none the less, while Jaune went crimson with embarrassment. Red slowly got herself under control, wiping the tears from her eyes, she got up from the ground.

"So… talk about déjà vu right?" she asked, ignoring Pyrrha's suspicious gaze.

"Déjà who?" replied Jaune in confusion.

Red shook her head in amusement, "never mind, you're sword skills are looking better Jaune. Guess your training is working right Pyrrha?" she asked, turning to the red head.

The Spartan just nodded and carefully manoeuvred herself between Red and Jaune, keeping a hand on Miló and both eyes on her at all times.

Red sighed, "Relax Pyrrha I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Then why are you here Ruby?" she asked, coldly.

Red turned to look up at the sky, "the stars are beautiful tonight aren't they? We never got to see them much back home, but there's something incredibly peaceful about lying down and staring up at them. Almost makes all your problems just seem to fly away," she said wistfully.

Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other confused and followed her gaze, "I can't say I really feel the same, but I guess I can understand the appeal," replied the Spartan.

"Do you ever miss it? You're home I mean?" asked Jaune gently.

Red smiled sadly and sat down on the roof's edge, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but I've learnt to accept it."

Jaune cautiously made his way over and sat down beside her, "so if you could go back right now, would you?"

She just shrugged, "if you'd asked me a month ago I would have said yes without hesitation."

"But now?" prompted Pyrrha joining them.

Red paused, thinking back over the past couple of weeks, "I don't know anymore," she admitted.

"So what changed?" asked Jaune curiously.

Images of Yang, Cardin and Ruby sprang into her head, "I guess you could say my outlook did," answered Red with a smile.

The three of them descended into a comfortable silence as they looked over the school grounds, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Eventually Pyrrha stood up and dragged Jaune to his feet, "come on Jaune we need to get some rest for our mission tomorrow."

Red looked up in surprise, "you've been given a mission?" she exclaimed.

Jaune nodded, "yeah just a pack of Beowolves causing trouble in a small village," he explained.

"I see, well good luck then Vomit Boy," she said grinning.

"Thanks Crater Face, here's hoping I won't need it," he replied, gratefully before heading back to the dorms.

Pyrrha was about to follow him when Red's voice stopped her, "hey Pyrrha he's dense as a doorknob and twice as thick, if you want him to figure it out you need to be more direct, maybe a kiss would seal the deal," she informed the red head with a wink and a knowing smirk.

The Spartan's face matched her hair as she quickly followed Jaune back to the dorms, leaving a laughing Red to return to her star gazing.

"Damn Arkos shippers will be the death of me," she cursed, struggling to breathe through the laughter.

* * *

><p>Red watched as Prof. Oobleck darted from place to place, her eyes tracking every movement perfectly, a stack of papers growing on her desk. She felt everyone's eyes watching her as she reached for another blank sheet of paper, her hand nothing but a blur as it wrote down everything Oobleck said faster the he could say it. By the end of the lesson everyone, even the professor, looked slightly shocked by the amount of notes she'd taken.<p>

Red just looked around shrugging, "my semblance is speed remember guys?" she explained, smirking.

"Wait so you copied down everything the professor said?" asked Weiss in disbelief.

"Most of it," corrected Red, "I left out the unimportant bits."

The class was silent as they processed this with wide eyes, Yang immediately threw an arm around her shoulder, "Sis did I ever tell you how much I care for you?"

"You want notes then use your own Yang," replied Red, grinning as she took the blonde's arm off her shoulder.

Red packed up her notes and was about to leave when she stopped as she had a brainwave, her grin still in place she stood on her chair, "for everyone who wants a copy of Professor Oobleck's lecture it will start at 5 lien, remember highest bidder wins, any takers?" she auctioned.

There was a brief lull in the classroom, almost like the calm before the storm, then suddenly Red was surrounded by bidding students. Professor Oobleck just watched the scene in growing amusement as she was swarmed by over eager students, each pushing the others out of the way. Unfortunately this pushing session led to all the students breaking out into a brawl, leaving all the potential bidders on the floor unconscious. Team RWBY just watched the end result from the carnage with shock when they heard chuckling coming from Oobleck.

"Well Miss Rose when the Headmaster told us about you I must admit I thought he was joking, but you really are Chaos Incarnate," commented the professor amused.

"I'm not that bad am I?" she pondered.

"Ruby this is the sixth time this week you've caused a riot," said Yang sternly.

Red looked up in surprise at this, "but it's only been two days," she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Exactly my point! If you keep this up I'm taking away your cookie privileges," threatened the blonde.

Red gasped, "You fiend!" she cried.

Yang looked on unimpressed as she dragged her out of the room leaving the others to apologize to the professor. After a couple of minutes Weiss and Blake caught up and they walked on to the cafeteria to get some lunch. For most of RWBY it was too quite without team JNPR here but Red didn't mind, after all she wasn't really on that good terms with them plus she usually sat with CRDL most days anyway.

"Hey guys what's up?" greeted a male voice.

Turning around they saw Sun walking over to them, a silly grin on his face. The monkey Faunus joined them at the table with a plate full of bananas. 'Why is Sun here he isn't a Beacon student, is he?' thought Red confused.

"What are you doing here Sun?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, "I'm part of the Haven students staying here for the festival," he explained.

Red frowned, 'what's Haven? A Beacon equivalent?' she thought confused before Sun snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I remember you, you were at the shipyards," he said, staring at her.

"This is my younger sister and leader of team RWBY, Ruby Rose," introduced Yang.

"Or you can just call me Red, whatever you prefer," Red added.

Sun dropped his food and just stared at her with unblinking eyes. RWBY shared glances with each other as Red waved her hand in front the stunned Faunus.

"I think I broke him," she joked.

Sun shook his head and turned to face her, "you're Ruby Rose? The Red Reaper, the Destroyer of Classrooms and Chaos Incarnate?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Hey! Yang destroyed the combat room to and how come everyone knew about this chaos thing but me," she said, defensively.

Sun's eyes became wide at this as he ran over to her and, much to everyone's surprise, knelt down on one knee in front of her. "My Queen please take pity on this humble Faunus and teach me your ways," he begged.

All of their jaws dropped at this, Red quickly recovered however as a grin spread on her face, "very well Sun Wukong I shall take you under my wing," she replied, taking out Crescent Rose.

"From this moment on you shall be known as Sir Sun," she announced, placing the scythe on both his shoulders.

As Sun stood up he turned to face her, "by the way how did you know my name?" he asked, confused.

"Oh err… I heard the others talking about you," she lied.

"Whatever they said is a lie," denied the Faunus.

Red laughed and turned to the rest of team RWBY, "I'll see you guys later, come on Sir Sun we have work to do," she said, giving them a wave.

"Remember what I said Ruby," threatened Yang.

"You said I couldn't do anything, you never said anything about someone else doing it," informed Red, sticking out her tongue at the blonde as they turned to leave.

"Team RWBY please report to the headmaster's office immediately," ordered a voice over the PA system.

They all looked at each other in confusion before saying goodbye to Sun as they left the cafeteria and headed to Ozpin's office.

* * *

><p>Red closed her eyes and gripped the harness as the Bullhead made its way to their destination, 'I had hoped never to set foot in one of these again,' she thought pale faced. The rest of team RWBY were silent as they gave their equipment last minute checks, a concerned atmosphere spreading throughout the aircraft. The sombre mood didn't surprise Red as she thought back to when they were given this mission.<p>

_The four of them stood in Ozpin's office, waiting for the headmaster to explain the cause for the sudden meeting. The headmaster was missing his trademark mug of coffee as he placed his scroll back on his desk with a sigh._

"_Two days ago I sent team JNPR on a routine patrol mission to a small village," he began._

_Red nodded, "yeah Jaune told me, it was to eliminate a pack of Beowolves right?" she asked._

_Ozpin glanced at her, "correct Miss Rose, however we have currently lost all contact with them. To make matters worse their last transmission was a request for back up."_

_They all frowned, while Jaune wasn't the best fighter his teammates were no push overs, Pyrrha was even world famous because of it. They should have been able to take out a pack of Beowolves easily, seeing their expressions Ozpin nodded._

"_It seems you understand the situation, I'm sending you all to find out what happened to them and if necessary help them complete their mission," he ordered them._

"_Understood," they all replied._

Red was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the Bullhead pilot, "ok we're in sight of the village now so far no activity of any kind, it looks deserted. I'll drop you off near the town centre then move to a safe distance. Radio in when you want an evac."

"Got it, thanks mate," replied Red.

As the aircraft touched down team RWBY quickly rushed out with weapons drawn, seeing nothing they turned to watch the Bullhead fly off. As they walked down the empty streets a sense of unease began to grow, 'where is everyone?' thought Red wearily. She could almost feel eyes watching their every move as they searched the nearby houses.

"Hello! Anyone home?" called Yang knocking on the door.

Red jumped, "Yang stop that!" she ordered, fearfully.

The other three just turned to look at her in surprise, "something is watching us," explained Red.

"How can you tell?" asked Weiss.

Red just shot the heiress a deadpan look before turning to Blake, "Blake you have the best night vision, I want you to find some high ground and begin searching for JNPR. The rest of us will continue to look for clues to what happened here."

The Faunus nodded and climbed up on the roof before disappearing into the darkness to begin her search. The rest of team RWBY headed down the streets, keeping their weapons ready as they searched the nearby houses.

"I don't like this, where did everyone go?" asked Weiss nervously.

"The lights are on and some even have their dinner still set up so they must have left in a hurry," commented Yang.

"But what could cause everyone to just abandon their homes?" replied the heiress.

"Survival," answered Yang as she examined a wall.

"A pack of Beowolves wouldn't cause them to abandon the entire village," argued Weiss.

"That's assuming that the Grimm did this," shot back the blonde.

"What do you mean Yang?" asked Red.

Yang got up and turned to face them, "this place is too intact, if Grimm were responsible for this then we would be seeing more destroyed infrastructure. Also take a look at this wall, notice anything about it?" she explained.

Red and Weiss looked at each and shrugged before approaching the wall, "ok Yang we give up what are we supposed to be looking for?" asked Red, after a couple of minutes.

The brawler approached them, "look at the wall, it's covered with holes," replied Yang, pointing at the numerous holes.

Red's eyes widened, "they're from dust rounds," she exclaimed in understanding.

Yang nodded, "exactly and last I checked Grimm don't use guns."

"True but they could have been caused by team JNPR's weapons," replied Weiss.

Yang frowned and was about to argue when they heard a sound coming from behind them, causing them to spin around with weapons ready. Only to lower them as they saw the NPR of JNPR stumble out of the alley way.

"Are you guys ok? What happened here? Where's Jaune?" asked Red as they rushed over to them.

Upon hearing her voice the remnants of team JNPR looked up and readied there weapons, an expression of hate on all their faces. Red stopped and began backing away as Pyrrha charged her, shield bashing her in the face before she could react.

"You monster!" screamed the Spartan, readying another attack.

Unable to dodge in time Red just closed her eyes and waited for the blow that never came. Opening her eyes in surprise she saw Yang grasping Pyrrha's spear before throwing a punch that knocked the Spartan back a few feet.

"Ruby why don't you take a walk, Weiss and I need to have a little chat with JNPR," said the glowing blonde as Weiss walked up beside her.

"Yang are you sure?" asked Red.

Yang nodded, "Go find Jaune maybe he can tell us what happened here, we'll try to keep them busy for as long as we can," she ordered.

"Alright I'll be as quick as I can, just be careful you two, they look serious," replied Red as she disappeared into rose petals.

"Don't worry Ruby it's not us you should be worried about," growled Yang as they both got into their combat stances.

* * *

><p>Pyrrha watched as Ruby disappeared an enraged expression on her face, "Why are you defending that monster!" she screamed at them.<p>

"She's not a monster Pyrrha, she's just been dealt a bad hand," argued Weiss.

Pyrrha rounded on her, "You to Weiss! I expected it from Yang but you to!" she roared.

"You have no idea what she's done," growled Ren.

"I'm going to break her legs," hissed Nora.

"What are you all talking about? Where is Jaune?" asked Yang confused.

And as if a trigger had been pulled the minute Yang mentioned the name Pyrrha roared in fury before charging the two members of RWBY followed by Nora and Ren. Weiss quickly threw up a glyph underneath them as they dived to the sides, avoiding NPR's mad bull rush.

"Weiss I'll take Pyrrha you keep Ren and Nora busy," ordered Yang.

Weiss nodded, "alright but be careful her semblance is Polarity," warned the heiress as they split apart.

Yang nodded and fired multiple rounds at the trio forcing them to separate before charging the Spartan while Weiss blocked off Ren and Nora. Quickly closing the distance between the two of them she dodged the red head's return fire, landing a punch that was blocked by the shield causing Pyrrha to nearly stumble from the force of the blow. Glaring the two began circling each other neither breaking eye contact.

* * *

><p>Weiss had been trained to fight since a young age, so she was no stranger to combat. However her style was more suited to one on one style duelling and was not as effective against multiple opponents, especially against these two. It was clear that they were partners for a reason, both their fighting styles effectively covering for the other. As a result Weiss was always on the defensive, whenever the heiress saw an opening she was unable to take advantage of it as the other would press their attack. 'I need to isolate them, but if I do one of them might go after Ruby,' she thought angrily as she dodged another jumping hammer attack.<p>

"Would you two just calm down and think about what you're doing!" she yelled at them.

"We're doing the right thing, now stand aside Weiss. We only want Ruby," stated Ren calmly.

"That's not going to happen," replied the heiress, throwing a stasis glyph around Nora before shooting towards Ren.

The eastern boy twisted out of the way and sent an aura infused palm strike into her stomach as she passed, causing her to fall to the ground coughing. Unable to focus through the shock and pain of the blow her glyph around Nora faded, releasing the ginger from her prison. The two began to walk back to Pyrrha leaving Weiss on the ground struggling to catch her breath. Seeing her chance she stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground encasing their legs in ice.

"Silly Weiss thinks ice will stop Nora!" taunted the ginger as she slammed Magnhild into the ice, shattering it on impact.

Once again freed the two members of team JNPR turned back to the heiress as she staggered up. Both of them began to approach her with weapons drawn when Nora suddenly found herself pushed to the ground as something landed on her.

"You know two on one isn't very fair, why don't we even up the odds?" said Blake.

* * *

><p>'What's going on? Why are JNPR attacking me?' thought a confused Red as she ran down the streets. Sure she wasn't exactly welcomed by them anymore but not to the point that they'd attack her for no reason and their expressions, they were the same as Yang's during her escape from Beacon. The buildings were came into focus once again as she slowed to a stop and leaned against a wall, still recovering from her recent blow to the head. 'I need to find Jaune and figure out what happened here,' she realized as the ringing in her head stopped. Red was about to continue her search when an explosion of yellow aura appeared behind her, 'that's Yang's aura, things must be getting worse if she needed to use it.'<p>

"It's such a shame to see friends fight like that, isn't it Red? Especially when they're both in right," commented an amused voice.

Spinning around Red brought Crescent Rose into a ready position, glaring at the girl in front of her. "What do you mean 'both in then right?' What did you do!" she demanded.

The multi-coloured girl smiled, "I didn't do anything, but you on the other hand…" she trailed off twirling the umbrella.

Then the girl disappeared and in her place stood a copy of Red, complete with silver eyes and scythe. "What do you think, not bad huh?" teased her doppelganger as she twirled in front of Red.

"Although we didn't expect the others to defend you, still the unpredictability is what makes these games so much fun," smiled her double.

Red's eyes narrowed, 'we? Damn it she's got help this time around. I need to end this quickly.' Wasting no time she semblanced behind her double, bring Crescent Rose down on her head only to see the image shatter before her eyes.

"Now that wasn't very nice I was having a pleasant conversation here, in fact I was going to tell you where that wannabe knight was," pout the now normal looking girl from above Red.

She turned to face the illusionist, "tell me now," growled Red.

The criminal's Cheshire smile grew larger, "no I don't think I will," she replied.

"Good, now I get to beat the answers out of you," responded Red, a savage grin wide on her face.

* * *

><p>Yang dived to the side as Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱ at her, unfortunately the shield followed the blonde's movements hitting her in the gut. The Spartan didn't wait for the brawler to recover from her coughing fit and instead charged Yang with Miló in sword form. Unable to react in time Yang was thrown back into a street light causing it to collapse.<p>

"Pyrrha stop this before one of us gets seriously injured!" cried the blonde as she struggled to her feet.

"Get out of the way Yang, she needs to pay," growled the red head.

"I don't know what's wrong with you Pyrrha but you're not touching Ruby," replied Yang, slamming her fists together.

An explosion of yellow aura erupted from her, blowing away debris and knocking the Spartan to the ground. The red head quickly recovered and back pedalled while firing at Yang, whom leapt into the air as the rounds past beneath her. Pyrrha quickly brought Akoúo̱ up as Yang delivered a downwards punch into the shield, causing the ground to crack beneath them and a large dent to appeared in the shield. Seeing an opportunity Pyrrha let go of Miló and blocked punches from both of Ember Celica's gauntlets. Miló was instantly back in her hand after the blocks and the red head attempted to sweep kicked Yang's feet from under her. Seeing this the blonde tried to block it only to find her hand move too slowly, almost as if something was pushing against it. Eyes widening Yang fell to the ground before rolling to the side as Pyrrha brought her sword down where her head just was. Jumping back into her combat stance Yang backed up as they both stared at each other, waiting for the other to make their next move. 'What just happened? I should have been able to block that kick,' she thought confused. Her eyes rested on her gauntlets as understanding dawned, grinning Yang turned back to face the Spartan as she detached Ember Celica from her wrists.

"Figured I'd give you a handicap after all you seem to need it," teased the glowing blonde.

Pyrrha just snarled and the two charged each other once again.

* * *

><p>Blake leapt off Nora as the Ren turned and unloaded a blast from StormFlower at the Faunus, flipping around in midair Blake turned and fired Gambol Shroud. Using her ribbon the Faunus swung into Ren, knocking the eastern boy over before switching to her dual wielding sword and sheath combo. Ren responded by back flipping onto his feet and deflecting both weapons with the blades attached to his SMGs before retaliating by spraying into Blake at point blank range. Noticing this Weiss threw a glyph under her teammate's feet and Blake leapt to the side, turning to face her opponent as he ran at her firing all the way. Nora tried to help her partner but immediately had to dodge numerous fireballs that the heiress threw at her. Growling the ginger switched Magnhild to its grenade launcher form and unleashed a barrage of explosives at Weiss, leaving her with no time or room to dodge. Frowning the heiress stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground creating a wall of ice in front of her just as the grenades hit, causing ice shards to shower all the combatants. Seeing her chance Blake disengaged from Ren and ran over to Weiss.<p>

"Weiss what's going on here?" asked the confused Faunus.

"I don't know when we found them they attacked Ruby," informed Weiss.

The two of them watched as Ren and Nora began moving in complete synch, "this is going to be difficult," said Blake worriedly.

Weiss smirked, "don't worry I have a plan," she whispered.

* * *

><p>Red switched Crescent Rose to its gun mode and fired up at the illusionist, not surprised to see the image shatter before her, "smart, instead of charging you're using your range attacks to see if I'm real or not," complemented the girl from behind her.<p>

Red spun around, only to feel a clip of dust rounds to strike her in the back, knocking her to the ground. 'What was that?' she thought glancing around for the source of the fire. As she was searching for her attacker she was hit again and sent flying into a wall, this time from what felt like a kick to the stomach.

"What's the matter Red? You can't stop now the fun's only just begun," teased her opponent.

'She must be hiding her friends as well as her,' realized the reaper. Frowning she climbed out of the Red sized crater and walked into the middle of the street, ignoring the many taunting remarks from the illusionist. 'Ok just like in the store focus on my aura, remember the two sets of eyes,' she thought closing her eyes. Standing stock still and taking a deep breath she steadied her breathing and heart rate, her arms hanging limply by her sides with Crescent Rose back in scythe mode. Feeling something approaching her from behind Red spun around and brought the blunt end down on her opponent. The sound of glass shattering was heard as the White Fang grunt fell to the ground unconscious, not giving them any time to react Red fired into a second figure. By the time the other grunt fell down wounded she had already disappeared in a flash of rose petals, charging the last figure present. Bringing her scythe down with an overhead swing Red felt something block it and the image shattered to reveal a very angry illusionist.

"Hey guess what? I. Can. See. You," grinned Red as she opened her now red outlined silver eyes.

Grinning Red was about to activate her electricity trap when her eyes widened and she jumped back, breaking the deadlock between them as a large dust round passed by where she was moments ago. Turning to face this new threat she felt blood drain from her face. There causally strolling towards her with his characteristic smug grin was none other the Roman Torchwick.

"Well Red you certainly know how to put on a show don't you?" clapped the criminal.

"Well I aim to please," she replied backing away.

"Indeed but I'm afraid you're going to come with us, some important people want to meet you," informed Roman.

"Over my dead body," hissed Red.

"I see that's a shame, Neo if you would," he said, turning to the illusionist.

"Gladly," replied Neo, giving her a hateful glare.

Red smiled, "more illusions? Fine I'll just beat them again and again," she taunted.

Neo grinned, "maybe but can you beat you own demons?" she asked.

Red frowned as everything suddenly turned black around her.

* * *

><p>Weiss and Blake dodged to the side as Nora launched another barrage at them while Ren used the covering fire to get in close to them. Knowing the eastern boy's skill in close quarters the two members leapt over Ren, tripping him as they passed and charged Nora, ignoring him all together. Neither member of team JNPR were ready for the sudden change in tactics, forcing the ginger to back pedal while shifting Magnhild back to the hammer mode as they approached. Weiss shot forward with her rapier raised causing Nora to spin and deflect it with the handle of her hammer and swing it around for a counter attack. The minute Nora turned her back however Blake attacked her from behind, stopping the ginger's counter attack and making her cry out in pain. The two of them worked like a pack of Beowolves as they used JNPR's previous tactics against the ginger.<p>

"Nora!" cried Ren as he rushed to his friend's aid.

'Perfect just as we planned,' grinned Weiss as Ren forced Blake off from Nora. Together they forced the two members of JNPR closer and closer until they were literally back to back.

"Now!" called Weiss.

Using all her remaining energy she threw a stasis glyph at the two's feet forcing them to be stuck together. Blake quickly fired Gambol Shroud to Weiss and the two circled their opponents, using the ribbon to tie them up before removing their dropped weapons. With the weapons taken and their wielders captured the heiress dropped her glyph, giving a sigh of exhaustion.

"Why are you here?" questioned the now tied up Ren.

"To help you, we received your distress signal. Only when we get here everyone's missing and the people we were trying to help attack us," growled a very annoyed Weiss.

Ren and Nora looked at each other, "what distress signal?" asked Ren confused.

Weiss and Blake looked equally confused and were about to respond when an all too familiar scream pieced the silent night.

* * *

><p>Yang blocked another blow from Pyrrha, wincing slightly, even with the aura coating her arms it still hurt without Ember Celica to help. The red head showed no mercy though, following the attack with a shield bashing from Akoúo̱ to the head nearly knocking the blonde out entirely. Still the force of the blow knock Yang to the ground and Pyrrha backed up watching as the blonde slowly got up from the ground her eyes a blood red and her hair now in flames. Seeing the brawler wasn't going down the Spartan roared in frustration before activating her semblance as bits of debris began floating around her. She threw the pieces at Yang, whom attempted to dodge but like with Akoúo̱ the debris just followed her. Having no other option the brawler simply punched the pieces, using her aura and semblance to shatter them on impact. Noticing this Pyrrha picked up the collapsed street light and using all her energy threw it at Yang at an incredible speed. However instead of seeing the blonde go flying and finally out of her way, Pyrrha's jaw dropped as she watched Yang grabbed the light and stop it entirely.<p>

"Hey Pyrrha, thanks for the power up," said the brawler, grinning as she lifted the light over her head.

"In fact why don't I return the favour," she continued before throwing the light post at the red head.

Not having enough energy left to redirect it the Spartan dived to the side, only to meet Yang as she quickly leapt onto Pyrrha, tackling her to the ground and getting her in a strangle hold.

"Pyrrha calm down! Tell me why you attacked Ruby and where Jaune is," she interrogated.

Pyrrha stopped struggling and broke down into tears, "he's dead and she killed him! She slit his throat right in front of us," cried the Spartan.

Yang frowned, "Pyrrha what are you talking about? Ruby has been with us the entire time you were gone," she informed the sobbing red head.

The Spartan paused, "but that's not possible we saw her!" she exclaimed.

Yang got up from the red head, "Pyrrha she was framed and you played right into their hands," she accused.

Pyrrha looked ready to argue more but stopped when they both heard a scream of pain and terror fill the air. Yang's eyes widened, "hold on Ruby I'm coming!" she called running towards the sound, Pyrrha hesitated before following the blonde.

* * *

><p>Red looked around confused, 'what happened to the town and where are Roman and Neo?' Everywhere she looked the houses from the village had been replaced by dead trees and plants surrounded by thorns. 'I've had enough of this,' she thought angrily as she attempted to break the illusion, only to fail as her aura refused to activate. Red felt panic start to rise in her chest as she continued to fail in activating her aura, the forest's silent atmosphere beginning to make her feel uneasy.<p>

"Neo get out here and maybe I won't beat your ice cream ass to next Sunday!" demanded Red, whom got an eerie silence as response.

Growling Red took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, 'ok think there's got to be a way out of this,' she reasoned. Just as she thought this a hedge of thorns split apart in front of her, 'well looks like I'm expected.' Unsheathing Crescent Rose she followed the newly made track until she came across a clearing filled with the first living things she'd seen. The entire clearing was filled with red and black rose bushes, as Red began to examine the plants she heard an all too familiar sound. Red began shaking as a low growl was heard behind her, spinning around she gripped her scythe tighter as the oily shadows emerged from the woods and began their damning whispers.

"Stay away!" she screamed, swinging the scythe wildly in front of her.

The shadows approached her regardless and the red roses slowly turned black as they came closer, Red kept backing away until she felt her back hit a trunk.

Sliding down the tree Red fell into a fetal position, "you're just illusions, nothing more than smoke and mirrors, you're not real," she began muttering.

_We are just as real as you are Red._

Red looked up as the multitude of voices ceased their incessant whispering and watched with a fascinated horror as the shadows began fusing together into a single being. She gasped, the figure standing before looked like someone had taken her form but coloured it completely black with with a white mask covering half her face and glowing red eyes.

"What… what are you?" she asked fearfully.

"Your future," replied the figure grabbing Red's arm.

Red screamed as an unimaginable pain coursed throughout her body before once again everything blacked out and she was sent to the blessed void of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Roman smiled as he watched Red's eyes glaze over and her scythe fall from her hands as she just stood there staring at nothing, finally despite the complications the plan succeeded. Still with the amount of preparation that went into this it wasn't a surprise that it had worked.<p>

"What did you do to her Neo?" whistled Roman, turning to his partner in crime.

"Trapped her in a nightmare of her own making, they're always more personal and creative than anything I can come up with," grinned the illusionist.

"How long will she be out?" he asked.

"It depends on the person but I'd say at least a couple of hours," she informed him.

Roman nodded and called in for pickup before ordering the evacuation of the White Fang from the village. Sighing in relief the two of them were about to walk off when they heard a scream erupt from behind them. Spinning around showed that Red was on her knees screaming as her aura flared, blasting the two crooks off their feet.

"Neo what the hell is going on?" demanded Roman.

"I don't know this has never happened before!" she shouted back.

Roman growled as he got up, watching as Red's aura began to grow darker until it was almost black. "Damn it, if you want some done right around here," he growled, rushing over to Red before slamming his cane over her head.

The screaming stopped immediately as her aura turned back to normal and she collapsed into his arms. Throwing Red over his shoulder he turned to glare at Neo as their Bullhead arrived.

"Ruby!" cried a voice from behind them.

Sighing Roman turned to see team RWBY and JNPR assembled before him with weapons drawn, each with their own expression of rage in their faces.

"Neo you're slipping," he groaned before his expression brightened, "good thing I had a backup plan."

"Give me my sister and I'll let you keep your manhood," growled the blonde.

Roman smirked, "tempting but I have a better idea, none of you move and your shining knight gets to keep his life," he replied, snapping his fingers.

The Beacon teams gasped as they saw a White Fang grunt drag an unconscious Jaune out from the Bullhead.

"Jaune's alive?" said Pyrrha in disbelief.

"Amazing what illusions can do isn't it? So what's it going to be? Risk his life to try and stop us in your tired state or let us go without a fight?" commented the smug criminal.

Yang looked ready to bash the crook's skull in but was held back by Blake who simply shook her head causing the blonde to look away. Roman smiled as the teams watched him load his two prisoners onto the Bullhead before giving them a wave as they took off leaving the village far behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there you go I hope you guys liked the chapter, I didn't really have much to go on for Neo's fighting style except lots of fan speculations so sorry if it didn't live up to what you had hoped. It will be better in the future once we actually see Neo fight I promise.<strong>


	19. A Grave Discovery

**Sorry this took so long but real life is a bitch sometimes. Anyway I wanted to thank you guys for being patient with me and a special thanks to animatwin for thinking up the OC introduced in this chapter. Unfortunately exams are starting soon so I won't be able to work on any chapters for at least two weeks, as an apology I made this chapter extra long, sorry guys.**

**I don't own RWBY this should be obvious by now.**

* * *

><p>"What did you just say!" screamed Yang, slamming her fist onto his desk.<p>

"No I'm not going to authorize a rescue mission or a search party," replied Ozpin, giving them an apologetic look.

Yang growled and rushed towards him with her fist raised high and hair ablaze, only to be stopped by Blake and Nora. While the two of them tried to calm the raging blonde Pyrrha walked over to the headmaster.

"Please sir it's our fault this happened at least let team JNPR search for the two of them, team RWBY wouldn't miss out on class then," begged the red head.

The headmaster turned to face her, "you're misunderstanding me Miss Nykos. I'm not stopping you because of school work. I'm stopping you because we simply don't have the resources required to find them."

"I could get the Schnee Company to help, they'd be more than happy to hurt the White Fang," suggested Weiss desperately.

Ozpin shook his head sadly, "if the Schnee Dust Company had the resources to find the White Fang they would have dealt with them already."

"So we should just do nothing while they're doing God knows what to Ruby and Jaune!" exclaimed Yang.

Ozpin slammed his mug on the desk and stood up glaring at her, "and what would you suggest we do Yang Xiao Long!" he snapped as his calm façade dropped, causing all of them to jump.

"Search all of Vale? We don't have enough people to even search a district! Alert the police? We have already done so! Attack the White Fang bases? Every single known warehouse used by the White Fang has been emptied, in fact we don't even know if their still operating in the city anymore!" he yelled before sitting back down.

"They were clearly planning this for some time and Roman has outsmarted us at every turn, so if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them because I'm running on empty," sighed Ozpin, rubbing his temples.

The office was silent as the students recovered from the headmaster's unexpected outburst, Yang's hair had even turned back to normal.

"Why did they kidnap Ruby and Jaune?" asked Ren.

"Ruby did used to work for them, maybe she learnt something she shouldn't have," suggested Weiss.

"No if that was the case they would have just silenced her like they did with Tukson," replied Blake.

"You are correct Miss. Belladonna, if they captured Miss Rose and Mr. Arc then logic dictates that they needed them alive for something," mused Ozpin as his calm mask returned.

"Maybe it was because of her abilities, after all from what she told me they seemed to greatly value them," commented Yang.

"That makes sense but why Jaune then?" asked Pyrrha.

Ozpin coughed drawing all of their attention, "they could be using Mr. Arc as an insurance to keep her loyal this time around, since he was a friend of her's and also the weakest link. However I don't think that is the reason for their kidnapping."

"What makes you say that Headmaster?" asked Weiss curiously.

Ozpin turned to face the window, "just a theory that I hope is wrong," he replied, cryptically.

"So what do we do now?" questioned a depressed Yang.

Ozpin just sighed, "Just keep your eyes and ears open and hope for the best, that's all we can do."

As the teams trudged out of the office Ozpin looked down at the mug on his table, "please let me be wrong," he muttered, depressed.

* * *

><p>"Ruby! Ruby wake up!"<p>

Red groaned as she felt someone shaking her shoulder, slapping the hand off her shoulder she rolled over to get away from the annoyance. Unfortunately the shaking and calling only increased tenfold in respond to this.

"Ruby seriously now is not the time to sleep in!" cried a familiar voice.

'Is that Jaune? Why is he in our dorm?' wondered Red. Yawning she sat up and opened her eyes to see a worried Jaune sitting next to her. Looking around she noticed that she wasn't in her dorms but instead what looked to be an improvised jail cell made from an old dust container. Suddenly the memories of the town came rushing back and she immediately snapped out of her sleepy daze and turned to Jaune.

"Jaune are you ok? Where are we?" she asked, frantically.

Jaune shrugged, "I don't know, when I woke up we were already thrown in here," he informed her.

Red sighed, "Ok then what's the last thing you remember?"

"We arrived at the village and were greeted by a group of Faunus who had called for the help. They told us to stay the night in the local inn and wait until the Grimm arrived," replied Jaune frowning.

"Then during the night we heard something and went to investigate, I remember seeing a girl wave me over and then everything went black. Next thing I know we're locked up in here," he grimaced, rubbing his head.

Red was about to reply when they both heard a group of people approaching, quickly shutting the two of them up as they focused on the new arrivals. She wasn't surprised to see the smirking criminal look back at her however she did raise her eyebrows at his companion.

"Adam, wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you again but I think we both know that's a lie," she greeted the Faunus.

"Indeed I would've liked to meet again on better circumstances," nodded Adam.

Jaune nudged her, "Ruby who is that and how does he know you?" he whispered.

Red glanced at him, "that's Adam Taurus, one of the higher ups for the White Fang. I used to work with him and his team on missions," she whispered back.

Jaune immediately grew pale and backed away from their captors as they walked up to the cell door, both ignoring the blonde knight and keeping their attention focused on her. Red didn't flinch under their gaze and just yawned in front of them.

"You know compared to that crappy room you gave me last time these sleeping arrangements are a five star resort," she joked.

"Of course it's my duty as a gentlemen to keep a lady comfortable," replied Roman, before dropping his smug smile.

"Tell me Red do you recognize this symbol?" asked the crook in a serious tone, holding up a piece of paper.

She frowned as she examined the symbol, it was a blue upside down pentagon with what looked like a planet inside it and a black X running over both with two words above the symbol. Red's eyes grew wide as she recognized the planet shown and the words 'Semper Vigilans', causing Roman to give a triumphant smile.

"So you do know it, care to explain what it is?" he ordered.

Red shook her head, "I've never seen the symbol before but I recognize that language and the planet," she informed him.

"Oh," said Roman intrigued, "and what can you tell me about them."

Red glanced at the paper conflicted before giving a sigh as she spoke up, "It's a very old language but a large majority of modern languages evolved from it making it relatively well known. It's called Latin, a language from Earth, as for that planet… you're looking at the Earth itself."

Everyone looked at her in shock, "really? Now isn't that interesting, what does the writing say?" asked Roman.

She just shrugged, "I don't know, just because I can recognize it doesn't mean I can speak it," she replied to his frustration.

"I guess that will have to do," growled the criminal as he and Adam walked out.

"Hey wait! What's going on her! Why did you capture us?" demanded Red, only to growl when the sound of a door shutting was their only response.

As the door shut behind them Adam turned the crook, "looks like your suspicions were correct after all."

Roman frowned, an expression of deep thought on his face, "is that bug we planted on Red working?" he asked.

Adam nodded, "it began responding just before we walked in…why are we doing this again?" he asked, confused.

Roman just sighed, "Because our new 'partners' are going to double cross us and I want to know where to hit them when they do. Get them ready for transport and remember tell no one about tracker we still don't know who their sleeper agent is," he ordered as he walked off, leaving Adam to stare at the dot on the scroll in his hand.

* * *

><p>'Why did that symbol have Latin writing and more importantly why was Earth on it? Did Roman actually find a way back to Earth? No he would've gloated if that was the case plus he seemed almost worried about it,' Red took a deep breath to calm down her hyperactive brain.<p>

Jaune gave her a concerned look, "Ruby are you ok?"

She just nodded and began pacing around their cell, looking for any escape route they could exploit. Unfortunately even though the cell was improvised it was built well, with no noticeable structural weaknesses, 'must have had practice making these,' she thought sadly thinking back to the three Schnee prisoners. Giving a tired sigh she sat down next to Jaune who did his best to keep up a calm façade but Red could clearly see the worry in his eyes.

"So what's the plan Ruby?" asked Jaune hopefully.

"I don't know Jaune, I guess we just wait," she said, defeated.

"We'll have to sleep in shifts so we can't be caught unaware, since I got the most rest I'll take first watch," offered the blonde.

Red smirked, "and you'll be my knight in shining armour," she teased.

The reaper laughed as Jaune's face became flushed and rested her head against his shoulders, only to hear something clang along the floor of their cell. A hissing noise quickly followed and Red felt her eyes growing heavy as she coughed and sleep claimed her once more.

_Clack Clack Clack._

_Ruby felt her bed going up and down, 'my bed doesn't move,' thought the toddler. Yawning she slowly opened her eyes to see she was in a big red wooden box with wheels. The box went up and down as it hit bumps in the path. Ruby looked forward and saw her older sister Yang dragging the box by its handle, 'why are we out here? Mommy and daddy won't be happy, they said the trees were dangerous and the monsters lived there.' She tried to tell Yang but her sister was too focused on the thing in her hand to hear her soft voice._

"_I'm almost there, don't worry mom I'll see you soon," Yang muttered to herself._

'_Oh we're going to see mommy ok then,' thought Ruby as she snuggled back into her makeshift bed, her eyelids growing heavy as a house came into view._

* * *

><p>Red woke with a start, groaning as a familiar head ache made itself known. 'A memory flash, it's been awhile and just when I thought I'd never have to suffer them anymore,' she thought as the pain began to subside.<p>

Red cried as her head suddenly hit something hard causing a large spike of pain to lance through it, "as if my head wasn't in pain already," she grumbled.

Groggily she tried to stand up only to find the both her and Jaune tied back to back and chained to a seat of what looked to be the interior of a Bullhead. Suddenly the Bullhead dipped slightly and Red had to close her eyes, 'yep definitely a Bullhead,' she thought angrily.

"Jaune, Jaune! Are you ok?" she whispered to her companion.

The blonde in question didn't respond and even when Red kicked him in the shins, she just sighed, 'must still be unconscious, damn that must have been some sleeping gas.' Her thoughts were interrupted be the sound of the door opening, spinning around she saw Neo emerge from the cockpit.

"Oh you're up, impressive that was enough gas to keep an Ursa down. So enjoying yourself?" she mocked, walking up to Red.

Red just snarled at her and leapt to her feet, only to be dragged back down by the chains. Neo smiled and patted her on the head like a dog, ignoring the growling directed at her.

"You're more of a beast then these animals that we work with," insulted the illusionist as Red continued struggling.

"When I get out of here I'm going to rip you to bloody shreds," hissed Red, a dark red outline briefly forming around her.

Neo immediately backed up and watched her carefully as the outline faded, only approaching Red again when it was completely gone. This time however the illusionist didn't get far as the minute she was in range Red sent a lightning fast kick to her gut. Neo cried out and doubled over in pain before she raised her umbrella to return the favour.

"STOP!" ordered a male voice.

Neo glared at Red and lowered her umbrella as they turned to Roman whom had just entered, "they want her and I don't think they will enjoy damaged products, do you?" he stated, glaring at Neo.

The illusionist muttered her apologies as she turned to leave, "bye bye Neo-chan," called Red in a sing song voice as the door slammed shut.

"You really have a way with people don't you Red," commented the smiling crook.

She just shrugged, "well your new friend is a real piece of work, where'd you find her anyway?"

"A story for another time perhaps, still you seem to excel at making my job infinitely more difficult Red," sighed Roman as he took a seat directly across from them.

"Of course, it's not work if you enjoy it," she replied, cheerfully.

The criminal glared at her, "You know most people would be trying to get on their captor's good side at this point," he pointed out.

"Yeah well I'm not like most people Roman you should know this by now, anyway mind telling me why you went through all this trouble to capture us," she asked, intrigued.

"Our new business partners wanted you for some reason they refused to inform us of," he replied, bitterly.

Red frowned, "you don't sound too happy about getting new allies, does this have anything to do with the symbol you showed me?"

Roman nodded, "I was hoping that you would know what it meant, any information to let me know who I'm dealing with here," he admitted.

"But wait why did you take Jaune then, he has nothing to do with this," she said, confused before shutting her eyes as they encountered more turbulence.

Roman watched her in mild amusement, "to keep you from escaping. You've proven to be extremely resourceful so we're taking no chances. You might be able to escape but not with him in tow," he explained.

The two of them stared at each other in silence until they felt the Bullhead begin to descend, "well looks like we've arrived, remember you're supposed to be unconscious," he stated.

As the Bullhead's door opened up Red stretched her neck and saw two heavily armoured figures and a blonde female standing between them. She didn't get much of a look at them however as one of the White Fang grunts threw a bag over her head. He then unchained them from the seat but left them tied together as they were carried out of the aircraft.

"Is this her?" asked a cold female voice.

Red gasped, 'that accent… there's no way,' she thought as she listened to the conversation.

"Yeah that's Red alright, good luck holding her, she's a troublesome individual," replied a male voice she recognized as Roman.

"Who's the boy?" came the female voice again.

'There's no mistaking it, I'd recognize my home's accent anywhere,' she realized as her heart skipped a beat.

"One of her friends, we needed him to keep Red cooperative, don't worry we'll dispose of him after this," answered Roman.

"No we'll take him off your hands, the doctor needed a new test subject anyway, besides a little extra security doesn't hurt," informed the female.

Red felt her blood became ice at this and had to consciously keep herself from trying to break out of the grasp of the grunt. 'Ok Red calm down you don't know why but they want you alive, so just make sure that that you stop them doing anything to Jaune.'

"Sure saves us the trouble," he responded and Red felt themselves being handed to another person, mostly likely one of the two guards.

"Our payment," demanded the crook.

"You'll find 20 RPG launchers and 50 automatic rifles along with the ammunition required in the crates behind you," she replied, crisply.

"It's all there boss," came another voice, presumably from one of Roman's henchmen.

"Pleasure doing business with you," called Roman.

Red heard the sound of footsteps walking away before she and Jaune were thrown over a shoulder and they felt the new captors walk back to their truck. Red stifled a grunt as the two of them were thrown into the back and heard the doors shut as the trio climbed into their seats.

"Captain I don't think it's a good idea to give terrorists weapons," commented one of the two males.

'That's a different accent!' Red strained her ears trying to piece together the accent with a place. She tried to crawl closer but Jaune's unconscious form made it difficult to do so without being spotted.

"Don't worry Lieutenant, Command has rigged those munitions to explode after a 24 hour time period hopefully taking their dust stockpile with it," replied the captain.

"Smart, the cops will think that the White Fang are the cause of the explosion, either deliberately or accidentally while we get away scott free," commented the other male.

Red felt cold as her brain matched a country to the second male's accent, 'that's a British accent.'

"But Captain intel said that the White Fang use residential areas as bases, with a blast that size there will be civilian casualties!" argued the Lieutenant.

'And that's American! What's going on here?' she realized, struggling to keep her breathing under control.

"Do I care? We have our orders Lieutenant and I intend to follow them now stand down or I'll have you court marshalled," threatened the female.

"You bitch! Do you know how many will die because of you!" screamed Red before cursing, realizing what she'd done.

"Well looks like our little possum decided to stop playing dead," said the British male.

"Take care of her," ordered the captain before Red felt something hit her in the face and everything went dark.

* * *

><p>"…Incredible it's true, Remnant and Earth aura in a single being without harming the host," breathed a male voice with what seemed to be a German accent.<p>

Red opened her eyes and groaned as light flooded her vision, attempting to bring her arm over her head only to feel it strapped down to something. Forcing her eyes open again she took a quick look around what looked like an operating room, she was strapped down to a bench with leather straps. Glancing over she saw Jaune was across from her in a similar set up but still seemed to still be out. Hearing voices she turned her head to see two people examining a computer screen, one was a male in a lab coat and the other was a blonde female in want looked like burnt yellow desert camo armour, short blonde hair and what looked to be two shotguns strapped to her back. Red gasped, the woman looked like an older version of Yang with shorter hair, even her aura was similar. In some ways it was her sister's aura but at the same time it was different, a more twisted almost darker version of it. 'What' going on here?' she thought alarmed.

"Was she really worth all this trouble? We had to reveal ourselves to the White Fang to get her," question the blonde skeptically.

'That's the captain,' she realized keeping quiet as she listened, trying to ignore the growing sense of unease.

"Oh absolutely if we can figure out how she naturally got both auras then we might be able to replicate it with our soldiers," he said with no small amount of enthusiasm.

"You know, you look good with that hair style," he commented absent mindedly, glancing up from the computer screen.

"Don't get used to it, Command thought that a woman walking around with a military buzz cut was too conspicuous," she informed him.

"I heard about your Lieutenant, Stan wasn't it? How did you punish him for his little insurrection?" asked the male.

"A demotion before shipping him off to one of our new outposts in Remnant," she replied. "Putting that aside are you sure you can hold her?"

"Don't worry my dear we've designed these specifically to contain Remnant aura users," assured the doctor.

"What about the Earth aura, we have enough trouble containing normal Ferals let alone one that has Remnant abilities," she pointed out.

The doctor waved his hand at her, "not to worry, the results from the tests so far seem to indicate that while her Remnant aura is active most of her Earth aura is dormant, only her mild precognitive abilities and some sensory information enhancers seem active. It might be that her Remnant aura is suppressing the Earth one."

"I see," replied the blonde as she turned around to face Red, a brief look of surprise on her face.

"I thought you said you had them under sedatives," she growled at him.

The doctor looked up confused, "of course I did I'm not an amateur," he replied turning around, blinking as he saw Red awake.

"How…odd the sedatives seem to still be entering the body but they're having little to no effect," he commented, examining one of the many tubes connecting to her body.

"Where am I and who are you people?" demanded Red.

"You're in The Watchers auxiliary base, in the Australian Capital Territory. Not that that means anything to you," he commented, offhandedly.

'You'd be surprised you fucker,' she thought trying to keep her expression neutral. Judging from the suspicious glare from the captain she wasn't entirely successful.

"Where's that? Some part of Vytal?" she asked, playing along.

"It doesn't matter, now tell me how did you get two different types of aura? They are supposed to be incompatible with the other," he asked, intrigued.

"Red, Ruby Rose, Huntress in training at Beacon academy," she replied.

The doctor frowned and repeated his question only to get the same response, sighing he nodded to the female soldier whom punched Red in the face. Again he asked and again Red got punched in the face this time coughing up blood.

After five minutes of continuous punishment he ordered the captain to stop, "I must admit I'm impressed I didn't know Beacon taught you what to do in an interrogation situation, you must have a high pain threshold to take her punches without your aura shielding you."

The doctor sat down and began fiddling with what looked to be a tablet of some kind, "Remnant auras healing abilities truly are amazing, it is there greatest strength but also an exploitable weakness. Did you know that if you flood the body with highly toxic chemicals, your aura stops all other functions as it tries to expel the toxins? Now I'll ask you again and this time I expect an answer or I'll have your friend Leah here stop playing nice."

Red looked up to him with a grin, "Go…to…hell," she panted.

"Pity, Captain if you would," he said, getting up from his chair.

Red watched as Leah nodded and unholstered one of her shotguns, loading it as she walking over to Jaune and placed it against his head. Red glanced between the doctor and the captain, her sedative filled brain only just realizing the severity of the situation. 'They aren't bluffing,' she realized as she noted the expression on the two.

"Now Miss Rose was it? Pay attention, this is what happens when I don't get what I want," he stated, calmly.

"Wait! Ok I'll talk just get her to put the bloody gun down," she cried.

The doctor looked to his companion who nodded and place the weapon back in its holster as she walked over to them. Red noted however that the soldier's hand never left the weapon's handle as she watched over her. 'The best lies are the ones with a grain of truth to them,' she thought planning what to say.

"Well Miss Rose we are waiting," commented the doctor.

"I was born with the auras," she explained, getting a surprised look from him.

"I see did any of your family have these auras as well?" he asked.

Red frowned, "no but members of my family did have two types of aura, depending on where they came from," she answered carefully.

"Interesting so it could be due to family blood lines mixing, did they ever say where they were from," he questioned, leaning forward in the process.

Red was silent until she heard the sound of someone cocking a gun and turned to see Leah ready her shotgun again. "They said they were from a place called Australia!" she cried, frantically.

"I don't appreciate being lied to Miss Rose," he replied, his expression darkening.

"I'm not lying!" she shouted.

"Prove it," spat the Captain.

Red sighed and took a deep breath,

"Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,

Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,

And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil,

You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me."

She looked up and saw both her captors with expressions of shock on their faces before the captain growled and walked over to Jaune with her weapon raised.

"What is the capital of Australia? Tell me now or I will kill him," she threatened.

"Canberra!" answered Red quickly.

"What planet are we on?" continued the Captain.

"Earth!" cried Red.

"Who is the current Prime Minister of Australia?" she asked.

"Tony Abbott!" she shouted.

Leah lowered her weapon and approached Red again, "you seem to know quite a lot for being someone who only heard of this place from her parents," she finished, looking at the doctor.

Red's eyes widened and she cursed, glaring at the soldier with a hate filled expression. The doctor and his companion nodded to each other as he turned to the door.

"Well Miss Rose you've certainly given us some things to think about, we'll let you have some alone time with your friend assuming of course he wakes up," called the doctor as the door slammed shut, leaving Red alone with Leah.

The Captain walked up to Red and leaned towards her ear, "do you hear the whispers?"

Red froze as images of the shadows sprang to her mind, seeing her expression the Captain nodded as if confirming something before following her companion out.

* * *

><p>The dorm seemed to have lost its joyful cheer as the remnants of team RWBY finished another day of unsuccessfully searching Vale for any sigh of Ruby. None of them said anything as they collapsed onto their beds exhausted, each planning their next searching session. It had taken some convincing but they'd finally got Ozpin to allowing them to take time out of class to search for Ruby, stating that they wouldn't be able to get any work done anyway. Blake sighed as she heard quiet sobbing coming from the bunk above her. Yang was taking this the hardest having lost her sister twice in a span of a couple of months, it didn't help that they had no idea what the White Fang wanted with her.<p>

Blake frowned, Yang had a right to be scared and she knew it. The White Fang never went after individuals like this, sure every now and then a Schnee Company board member went missing but that was pure spur of the moment hits. They had never deemed anyone a threat enough to warrant such a carefully planned and orchestrated abduction, they'd even abandoned most of their bases in preparation. 'This isn't right they would never spend so many resources to catch one person, there's something else going on here,' she realized.

"Yang don't worry I've talked to my father he's using all our resources to track them down," assured Weiss.

"Your father would do that for one of your friends?" questioned the Faunus skeptically.

The heiress gave a cunning smile, "I might have told him that I gave her multiple passcodes to our different facilities," she replied.

Blake raised her eyebrows, "how did he take that?" she asked.

"Not very well," she admitted. "He raged and screamed at me. Cut off my allowance for the rest of the year."

Seeing her teammates shocked expression she shrugged, "I've saved up enough lien to last me ten years here, so it's no real issue."

"Weiss I could kiss you," exclaimed Yang as she jumped down from the bed and crushed the heiress in a bear hug.

"Urk…Yang… can't breathe…Blake help!" cried a struggling Weiss.

The Faunus didn't move and instead had to struggling to hold back laughter at the sight of the composed heiress so flustered. After a couple of seconds she couldn't stem the tide anymore and burst into laughter meanwhile Weiss gasped as the blonde finally let go.

"Ok let's start again first thing tomorrow morning," said the brawler.

They both nodded to her and climbed into beds, Blake ignoring the seething glares her white haired teammate was sending her as she got changed. Just as she was about to go to sleep the Faunus heard her scroll go off, 'that's odd only team RWBY and JNPR know my number,' she thought confused. Getting up Blake walked over to her scroll opening it up and froze as she noted the sender's address. It was from Ruby's scroll, immediately she opened it up and read the message before shaking her two teammates awake.

"Blake what is it we need to be well rested for our search tomorrow," growled Yang.

In response Blake just handed the scroll to her causing Yang to frown as she read the message her expression of rage instantly replaced with one of shock.

_Blake we need to talk about your little Red friend. Meet me at Tukson's old book shop in the western district at 12pm tomorrow. You may bring your teammates if you wish but no more than that, if anyone else shows up then I'm gone and so is your friend._

"Quick see if you can get the location of the scroll!" cried Weiss.

Eyes widening Yang quickly followed her advice only to growl as an error message popped up, "no good whoever sent the message must have removed the batteries after they sent it," she informed them.

"What do you want to do Yang?" asked Blake.

"We should tell Ozpin about this," suggested Weiss.

"No we don't know how this person is watching us, if we tell the Headmaster then they might not show up at all and that's if Ozpin even lets us meet them," argued Blake.

Yang turned to her partner, "Blake they mentioned you by name, do you have any idea who it could be?" she asked.

The Faunus just shook her head causing the blonde to growl in frustration, "ok here's the plan, we rest up completely before we go meet this person tomorrow and beat the answers out of them."

The other two nodded to her, a fire now in their eyes. For the first time they had a lead and no force, heaven or hell was getting in their way, one way or another they would find Ruby.

* * *

><p>Leah turned to the doctor, "we should call Command immediately they'll want to hear about this," she suggested.<p>

He nodded, "what concerns me is how she got to Remnant in the first place. We control the portals between the worlds. Nothing should be able to go between the two without us knowing it, let alone how she managed to obtain a Remnant aura."

The two of them walked into the control room and saluted as the screen came to life revealing a shadowy silhouette, "At ease, what do you have to report?" he asked.

The two of them dropped their salutes as the doctor stepped forward, "Sir there's been a development with project Prometheus, as you know we sent a team to capture a VIP but during her interrogation we discovered something very interesting."

The doctor sent the files from the recent tests before stepping back in line, "While this data is interesting I fail to see why you sought the need to use an emergency channel to report it," responded the figure after a short pause.

Leah stepped forward this time, "Commander we may have a level one security breach," she informed him.

"Explain yourself Captain," demanded the Commander.

"While we were interrogating the prisoner we found out that she used to live on Earth until quite recently from the information retrieved, but none of us have sent her through the portals so either there is a traitor amongst us or the portals are no longer required to cross between worlds," she reported.

There was silence as the two of them waited for a response from their superior, "Captain, Doctor, here are your new orders. I want you to find out everything you can about her, who she is, if anyone helped her and most importantly how she got there. I don't care how you do it just get it done," he ordered.

"Yes sir," they replied as the screen went dark.

As they left the room and made their way back to the interrogation chamber she grabbed the doctor by the shoulder, "Doc are you sure that her Earth aura is dormant?" she asked.

He frowned, "positive my tests don't lie. Why do you ask?"

"I mentioned the whispers to her and she panicked," replied the captain.

"A coincidence most likely, after all you need to be at stage two for the whispers to appear whereas she's barely at stage one. I think you might be letting your previous experience cloud your judgment Captain," he reasoned throwing off her hand.

She clenched her fist suppressing a surge of anger, "I hope you're right doc for all our sakes," she growled as they approached the door.

As they approached the door she felt a sudden familiar sense of unease, 'oh no.' Bringing out her shotguns she burst through the door and sure enough both the captives were missing.

"Sound the alarm we've got a security breach!"

* * *

><p>Red tried to strengthen her arm with her aura only to see the bright red outline sputter and die, repeating the process on various parts of the body yielded the same results. 'I guess Frankenstein wasn't lying after all, I can't use my aura,' she sighed closing her eyes. 'Wait a second he said it only stopped Remnant aura not my Earth one, but how do I use it?' she wondered before a spike of pain speared her head again.<p>

"_Uncle Qrow when are we going to start training?" asked Ruby, impatiently getting up from the ground._

"_We are training Ruby," replied Qrow, not moving from his position._

"_But all we've been doing is meditating for the past hour," she cried._

"_There's more to training then sparing Ruby, I'm not letting you near any weapons until you've unlocked you aura," he informed her._

"_Yang told me that you need someone else to do it for you," replied Ruby frowning._

_Qrow chuckled, "if that was the case then how did the first person unlock their aura with no one to help them hmm? While it is true that others can unlock your aura for you it is not the only method," concluded the hunter._

"_So why don't you just unlock it for me?" she growled, annoyed._

"_A true hunter has to earn their power not have it given to them," he replied, opening his eyes to look at her._

_Ruby just sighed and returned to her meditating position, "So how do I unlock it then?"_

_Qrow smiled, "clear your mind and focus on your body, feel your chest rise with each breath, your heart pump with each beat, the wind in your hair and on the skin. Now close your eyes, imagine a dam, the biggest and strongest you can and break it. This is a basic visualizing technique that can be used to get in touch with your aura," he instructed._

_Ruby nodded and felt a calm relaxed feeling wash over her, slowly her breathing became slow and steady. As she broke the dam a sudden rush of energy flooded her, snapping her eyes open Ruby saw she was surrounded by a bright red outline._

"_Well done Ruby not many people can ever do this on their first try," congratulated a clapping Qrow._

"Qrow if I ever see you again I'm going to buy you the biggest dinner imaginable," grinned Red.

Closing her eyes she followed his advice and that's when she felt them. Two currents flowing through her body, one a large calm yet vibrant red flowing freely and the other a small dark, wild, almost primal force slowly trickling out as if contained by something. Reaching out to the second she felt resistance coming from the red current, pushing against it she touched the darker aura and felt it begin to rapid spread throughout her body. Instantly Red felt her senses sharpen, she could hear the mice in the walls and smell the scent of her two captors lingering in the room. Giving a triumphant smirk Red forced the dark aura into her arms and opened her eyes to see them outlined in a black colour.

"Ladies and gentleman we are back in business," she cheered, breaking the leather restraints.

Ripping the numerous tubes from her body, she felt a blessed relief as her red aura returned and began the healing process. Rushing over to Jaune she broke his restraints and placed him on her back piggy back style before stumbling as she noted her reflection. Her sliver eyes now had catlike oval pupils instead of circular and the white of her eyes had been replaced by black. Her teeth had sharpened as well, in fact it looked like all her molars had been replaced by sharp canines. Finally her aura outline was neither black nor the familiar bright red, instead it was a darker shade of red almost like blood.

"Well...this is new," she said, stunned by her appearance.

Snapping out of it she walked up to the door and found it was predictably locked. "I always wanted to do this," she grinned before sending an aura infused kick into the door.

The door lasted another two kicks before it swung open revealing a narrow hallway, closing the door behind her and securing Jaune she ran down the hallway. Her new sense of smell leading them to the nearest source of fresh air, however as they left the hallway to the nearest room an alarm began to sound. 'Looks like they know we're gone,' she thought before diving back into the nearby room as she heard footsteps approaching.

"Someone get these lights on I can't see anything in this damn hallway," ordered a male voice.

'That's odd I could see just fine,' thought Red confused. She held her breath as they walked past her hideout, praying they wouldn't notice them.

"Sergeant was the door to that room always open?" asked one of them.

The Sergeant didn't respond but Red heard the flick of safeties being removed and two of them began to approach. Taking a deep breath she waited until they had just entered the room before activating her semblance, knocking the two of them out so fast they couldn't even make a sound. But she was momentarily blinded as a flash light hit her face.

"Shit she's gone to stage one, open fire!" ordered the Sergeant.

Red disappeared into rose petals as the wall behind her was peppered with rounds from the squad, realizing she couldn't fight properly with Jaune on her back Red fled as fast as her semblance could carry her. The source of the fresh air was close now as the sound of her pursuers grew fainter, looking ahead she saw the source of fresh air was an open window. 'Oh man this is going to hurt,' she grumbled, not slowing down as she flared her aura around them and jumped through the window. Red grunted as the landed before taking off into the nearby city, smiling as she left the base far behind.

* * *

><p>Jaune awoke to a massive head ache causing him to clutch his head in pain, 'what happened the last thing I remember was talking to Ruby in the cage then everything went black.' Groaning he got up from the bed he'd been placed on and looked around, he found himself in a room full of posters and some sort of computer he didn't recognize on a bench. Curious he examined some of the posters, they seemed to be for a show called Red vs Blue. As he was examined they poster he saw something that made his eyes widen, picking a slim cover he blinked thinking it was some dream but it stayed in his hand.<p>

"What's going on here?" he said, confused.

There in his hand was a slim container containing some kind of disc, but what caught his attention was the cover. Written in big letters was 'RWBY' with four pictures that had an uncanny resemblance to a certain team he knew. As Jaune stared at it unbelievingly he jumped, hearing the sound of a door opening and quickly shoved it in his hoody.

"Oh Jaune you're up good, here's some clothes I didn't know your size so I estimated, now get changed," ordered Ruby as she threw a pile of clothes at him.

"Where'd you get these?" he asked, holding up a shirt.

"Stole them from a local store," she replied, before grabbing her own bag.

"Ruby we can't do that give them back right now," he said, horrified.

Ruby just gave a dark chuckle, "trust me Jaune right now being arrested for theft is the least of our worries."

"What do you mean?" asked Jaune confused.

"Where do you think we are Jaune?" she asked in return.

He shrugged, "somewhere in Vale," he replied.

"Wrong, we're not even in Remnant," she informed him.

Jaune felt his jaw drop, "but then where are we?" he asked, fearfully.

Ruby sighed, "Welcome to Earth Jaune Arc. Now get changed, we need to lay low and being an anime look alike is not the best way to do so."

"Anime? What's that?" replied the knight curiously.

"Never mind just get changed already, my parents will be back from work in an hour and I don't think they'll appreciate two strangers in their house," she growled.

Jaune nodded fearfully and Ruby left the room, presumably to get changed herself. The blonde sighed as he picked out the only clothes in his size. Placing his clothes and the slim case in a bag he walked out to see Ruby reading some sort of large book.

"What's that?" he queried.

Ruby looked up and gave him a sad smile, "it's a photo album, you store photos in it so you can look at them later."

Intrigued he made his way over and saw a picture of a young blonde haired and blue eyed girl laughing with a white haired boy of the same age. He smiled, they seemed so happy he could almost feel the joy radiating from them.

"Who's your friend?" he asked.

"I don't know, I can't even remember how we meet. Everything is just a blur, all I remember is that we were good friends," she replied, sadly.

"Ruby I am so sorry," he apologized, guiltily.

She just shook her head, "I told you before Jaune I've accepted it, by the way what's with the bag?" she asked.

"Oh I thought it would be a good idea to keep our old clothes in it, you know leave no trace behind," he lied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ruby nodded, "good idea I'll throw mine in there too," she said, turning the page.

Jaune let out a sigh of relief and was about to leave her to reminisce when she suddenly dropped the album and grew pale. "Ruby what is it? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

She turned to him, "Jaune there's something I need to see."

* * *

><p>The sun had disappeared, hiding behind the growing dark storm clouds as they approached the site. It was quiet, no sound of the birds chirping or the wind blowing. The silence created a solemn atmosphere that neither of them were willing to break as they walked along the rows, searching for what they hoped not to find.<p>

"Ruby we can still turn back, you don't need to put yourself through this," said Jaune with a sympathetic look, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Red shook her head, "no Jaune I need to do this, I have to know," she replied.

His look of sympathy rapidly devolved into one of worry, "Ruby there are some things that aren't meant to be seen, things that can break a person. Sometimes it is better to just remain ignorant than risk yourself for that knowledge, remember once something is seen it cannot be unseen," warned Jaune.

She shook off his arm and turned away from him, "please Jaune just let me do this," pleaded Red as she walked down the aisles.

The blonde frowned but said nothing as he followed her and the duo continued their search. The first drops of rain began to fall before releasing a deluge on the unfortunate pair, signalling the start of the storm. Still Red didn't mind, in fact she couldn't even feel the cold or rain as she focused only on finding it, she glanced back at Jaune to see him throw his hoody over his head.

"The storm's getting worse Ruby, we need to go!" he called as thunder roared overhead.

Red rounded on him, "then leave you're not even helping anyway!" she snapped, briefly glowing a dark red.

Jaune flinched at her tone and she turned away, smothering the guilty feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. Red sighed as she heard the sound of the blonde following her, 'what's wrong with me? Why'd I snap like that?' Blaming it on lack of sleep she returned her attention to the search as they completed yet another row with no success, 'maybe it was a phony photo,' she thought in relief. As they reached another aisle of graves though she felt a chill run down her spine, a chill that was not caused by the storm. Slowly looking down she examined the tombstone in front of her and immediately collapsed to the ground as her legs gave way beneath her. Red yelled into the storm, her cry full of frustration and anguish as tears streamed down the side of her face. Jaune didn't say anything and just gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as he looked down at the grave, confirming his suspicions.

_Here Lies Laura Doe,_

_Who had many a friend but not a foe,_

_Her smile was a sight to see,_

_A Beacon burning bright._

_We miss her ever so,_

_And where she's gone we cannot go,_

_But to us she'll always be,_

_An everlasting light._

_Farewell Little Red may you rest in peace._

* * *

><p><strong>Well I had a lot of people wondering what had happened to Red's body...now you know. We finally get our first glimpse into the organisation Roman mentioned awhile back and more detail on Earth aura. Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter.<strong>

**P.S. If you want an idea of what Leah looks like just follow the link below but give her shorter hair, desert camo and shotguns as the weapons.**

** art/Battlefield-4-RWBY-Squad-416242425**


	20. Breaking of the Fellowship

**Hey guys sorry for not updating in a while but I screwed up one exam and it took me awhile to get back into a writing mood. Good news I'm over it now so I'll be updating again however they will be sporadic updates from now on sorry guys. Also I have a sneaking suspicion that my Neo character is very OOC compared to canon same with Adam, meh awe well these things happen I guess.**** Anyway thanks to everyone for being patient and a special thanks to Tommy and animatwin you guys have been really helpful.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did umm... I wouldn't be out of ideas for the disclaimer.**

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><p>"What do you mean you lost her!" screamed Leah.<p>

"Our apologizes Captain we were caught unawares by her semblance," replied the sergeant.

"She's a 15 year old girl! Regardless of her abilities a squad of armed and well trained soldiers should easily be able to capture a little girl," fumed the captain.

Leah rubbed her temples as she felt the doctor place a hand on her shoulder, "Sergeant are you sure she was at stage one?" he asked, worriedly.

The soldier nodded, "yes sir she displayed the classic traits; beast-like eyes, enlarged and sharpened canines as well as increased hearing and sensitivity to light."

The doctor frowned, "and you say she was still able to use her semblance in this state? That's troubling, the two auras are meant to be incompatible for a reason, using both at once should be impossible," he mused.

"What are the statuses of the search parties?" asked Leah, drawing the attention back to her.

"We have numerous undercover operatives searching the city as well as the local police but so far there have been no sightings of her," informed the sergeant.

The captain just sighed and dismissed him, "so what do we do now?" she asked, turning to her companion.

He turned and began walking to the labs, "I'm going to re-examine the data we received on her auras, maybe I can find something to use to our advantage."

She nodded and followed him into the computer filled room, "so where do we start?"

He sat down in front of one of the computers before gesturing to the one next to him. Nodding she took the offered seat and started the machine.

"While I'm examining the auras I want you to search all known auras of Australian citizens, if we're lucky then we'll find a match and figure out just who we're dealing with here," he instructed.

"And how accurate are these tests doctor?" she questioned with a frown.

He just turned to glare at her before looking back to his computer screen, "if you've ever used a mobile phone then we have your aura recorded Captain," he replied with a hint of venom.

"However it will take a while to scan the records, there is a large amount of people to go through after all," he continued.

Leah narrowed her eyes as she thought back to the conversation in the interrogation chambers. 'She reacted the moment she heard him say we were in the A.C.T. Also she has been able to evade our search teams, no one should be able to do that unless they know that city like the back of their hands,' realized Leah. Coming to a decision she narrowed down the search radius to residents of A.C.T and grinned as a match was found within the next five minutes.

"Hey Doc I think I found our culprit," she announced, much to his surprise.

The doctor frowned and looked up from his work as he walked over, "hmm…Laura Doe is it? But this can't be right it says here she died several months ago."

"She could have faked her own death," pointed out Leah.

"Not possible look at her picture they are clearly two different people, not to mention the age difference between the two. There must be a fault in the program there's no way they are the same person," replied the doctor as he took her seat in front of the computer.

"But think about it, it says that she grew up in the nearby city meaning she knows the area well. That could explain how she's been able to evade our patrols. You were wrong before who's to say you're not again," argued the captain.

"Captain a mistake in a single test is uncommon but not impossible. What you're suggesting goes against everything we know about aura," he elaborated, not taking his eyes from the screen.

"Her very existence goes against everything we know about aura, you said it yourself having Earth and Remnant auras should be impossible," she shot back.

"Very well Captain I'll re-examine her aura and try to compare it to what we know about Laura Doe's. In the off chance that something comes up I will send someone for you, will that satisfy you?" he sighed, getting up from his chair.

Leah just nodded before saluting and left the labs. 'Command's not going to be pleased to hear this,' she thought with a grimace as she headed to the Coms room. Walking in she stood at attention as the screen came to life, revealing the same silhouette as before.

"Captain, where is the Doctor?" asked the commander.

"He is currently in the labs re-examining the data and running damage control," she replied.

"Damage control? What happened Captain?" he demanded in a sharp tone.

Leah flinched, "We've encountered a problem with project Prometheus, the VIP we were supposed to interrogate has… escaped and her current whereabouts are unknown."

"Captain are you telling me that a little girl managed to escape a highly secured facility and is continuing to evade capture by our forces," said the commander with mild shock.

"Yes sir, unfortunately none of our troops were prepared for her semblance. It has also been confirmed that the previous test's results were false, her Earth aura is active and at least at stage one," informed the captain.

"Has she gone Feral?" he asked, a trace of worry in his voice.

"Unknown sir, that's why the Doctor is in the labs re-examining the data. However I don't think she's gone Feral yet," replied Leah.

"And what makes you say that Captain?" asked the commander, intrigued.

"When she broke out the soldiers reported that she was carrying her friend on her back, which forced her to flee instead if fight. Ferals always fight when given the chance in order to assert their dominance and only flee when there is no chance of survival, nor do they try to help others at their own expense," she explained.

"But the fact that the VIP did both means that she hasn't gone Feral," he said in understanding.

"Yes sir that is my theory," she replied.

"Very well Captain I want you and the Doctor stop all other projects and focus on recapturing her. You have no limit on support anything you need you get, we cannot let this escalate," ordered the commander.

"Sir, yes sir!" saluted Leah as the screen went dark.

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><p>Blake growled as she checked the time on her scroll, their mutual friend was late. Taking a deep breath she sat in front of the counter of the book shop waiting for their anonymous informant to arrive. Both Yang and Weiss were hiding of course, prepared to jump out at a moment's notice should anything go amiss. Thankfully however after the two incidents here the police had banned anyone from going into the building and it had been left abandoned ever since, meaning no innocent bystanders could get hurt should this go south. 'No not should, when this goes south,' thought the Faunus with a sigh. The sigh quickly turned to a yawn as days of tireless searching began to catch up with her.<p>

"You've grown sloppy Blake," came a familiar voice from behind her.

She spun around with Gambol Shroud already drawn and immediately backed up a few feet. 'How did I not hear him, damn it he's gotten better,' she realized worryingly. For his part Adam just looked at her without a care in the world, not even bothering to keep a hand on his weapons. Blake quickly sized him up, he was wearing his usual long sleeve trench coat attire complete with his mask as well as Wilt and Blush leaning against the wall. To anyone else he looked like an easy target but Blake knew better, he could grab his weapons and cut you down with them long before you tried anything as many Schnee security found to their horror.

"How long were you there?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Since you three walked in, like I said you're getting sloppy Blake," he replied, much to her anger.

She frowned, 'have I really gotten that bad in my time at Beacon?' Shaking the thought from her head she refocused her attention back to her former partner as he threw a scroll at her.

"I believe you'll be wanting that also tell your two teammates to come out, their pathetic attempts at hiding are grating my ears," said Adam.

Blake looked down at the object in her hand as Weiss and Yang came out of their hiding spots. Handing Ruby's scroll to the blonde Blake turned back to face the Bull Faunus.

"You're the one who contacted us? Forgive me if I'm a little sceptical Adam but I seem to recall quite well how you feel about humans," frowned Blake.

"It is a strange turn of events isn't it? Still regardless of whether or not you trust me I'm still your only lead to finding Red," he replied, smirking.

"Or we could just beat you up and take you with us to Ozpin and get the answers that way," growled Yang as she stepped forward.

"Yang wait!" cried Blake but it was too late.

Before Blake could stop her Yang charged Adam with flaming hair and gauntlets deployed. The White Fang member didn't even flinch at the sight of the oncoming brawler and simply grabbed Wilt and Blush from the corner. In the space of five seconds Yang found her blows being deflected by the Faunus' blade and sheath combo before being flipped to the floor with Wilt pressed against her throat.

"Not bad but who do you think it was taught Blake how to fight," he taunted.

"Alright Adam you've made your point just let her go," growled Blake as she and Weiss readied their weapons.

"If she attacks again then she dies," he threatened getting off Yang.

The blonde looked visibly shaken by her swift defeat as she got up from the ground and made her way back to her teammates.

"Why did the White Fang kidnap Ruby and Jaune?" questioned Blake.

"We had some promising businesses partners that were willing to support us however in exchange they wanted her," he explained.

"And these 'partners' were so powerful that you had to seize control of a village and host such an elaborate hoax that most would consider overkill for even Mr. Schnee himself?" replied Blake.

"I'll admit it wasn't the most popular decision ever made, personally I was against it too many resources wasted on a single person," he agreed.

"What about the people who lived in the village?" asked Yang.

"Like I said it wasn't the most popular decision the higher ups ever made," he responded.

The three of them felt their blood run cold, "but there were children living there, both human and Faunus!" cried Blake.

Adam just shrugged, "sometimes sacrifices have to be made."

"And thus the White Fang shows their true colours yet again," commented Weiss.

The Bull Faunus turned to glare at her, "don't act like your family are saints Schnee, all you need to do is walk through a Schnee internment camp and you'll see what I mean."

The heiress growled at him but was stopped by Blake, "now is not the time Weiss," she whispered at her.

Nodding her head Weiss began taking deep breaths and forced herself to calm down before asking her next question, "you said you 'had' promising business partners, so what happened to them?"

"They tried to double cross us the first chance they got, it would have worked to if not for the bug we placed on Red," he answered with a sigh.

"Bug? Why did you have a bug on her?" asked Yang confused.

"Roman didn't trust them so he began to look for some advantage we had over them. After all no one has dealt with an Earth organization before," he replied.

"Wait, Earth!" exclaimed the blonde in shock as the three of them shared a glance.

"So you know of it? Then it should come as no surprise to you that they were interested in Red," said Adam.

"And how does this help us?" replied Blake.

"Turn on the scroll," answered Adam.

Frowning Blake activated the scroll and to her surprise saw a red dot appear on a map of Vale, "and what's this?" she asked.

"That is the last known location of Red before the tracker stopped responding and also the site for the next White Fang raid. After all you didn't think that we were just going to take this betrayal lying down did you?" smirked Adam.

"And say that a trio of huntresses just happened came across this place while searching for their kidnapped friends just as the raid started. Why if I was them I'd use the confusion to sneak in and rescue two of their friends, provided of course they arrived at the right time," continued the Faunus.

"And you would be willing to give us this time?" said Blake in disbelief.

"I might but that all depends on you three, after all only a trio of huntresses is allowed to show up," he stated.

"Adam listen you should leave the White Fang before it's too late just look what they're doing, the White Fang we joined would never wipe out an entire village," stated Blake, drawing glances from her two teammates.

Yang quickly whispered in her ear, "Blake I really don't think now is the ti-."

"No, unlike you Blake I am no traitor," he exclaimed, angrily.

"Then what do you call this?" scoffed Weiss.

"A temporary truce against a common enemy, nothing more nothing less," he replied.

"And is that how Roman will see it?" said Blake.

"What Roman doesn't know won't hurt him," shrugged the Faunus.

Blake just sighed, "Alright we're in, come on you two lets head back to Beacon we have lots of work to do."

"Blake when you see Red again tell her we're even now," said Adam before he to left the building.

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><p>"Ruby? Come on Ruby get up we need to go," informed Jaune, gently shaking her by the shoulders.<p>

Red just stared at the grave not moving a single muscle, her tears long since run dry. Jaune sighed as the storm began to grow worse battering the two with wind and rain. Deciding this had gone on long enough Jaune grabbed Red and picked her up bridal style as he walked out of the cemetery. For her part Red didn't react and just stared blankly ahead, not even blinking as they passed the gate. She was then placed on the ground with a very worried Jaune looking over her.

"Ruby please snap out of it," he begged, shaking her again.

Red blinked as her mind slowly began working again, "Can we go?" she asked Jaune, her voice cracking.

He nodded and helped her up, "come on let's get out of this rain," he smiled.

Red nodded and they both began walking through the back streets and back yards, she wasn't stupid enough to use the main roads after all. Jaune was having a harder time with these alternate routes and seem to make a point of creating as much noise as physically possible. To be fair he wasn't able to infuse his muscles with aura yet nor did he have her parkour training, so she cut him some slack in that regard.

"Hey Ruby umm… where exactly are we going?" whispered Jaune.

Red stopped dead in her tracks, 'where was she leading them? Her body seemed like it was just on autopilot.' Turning to look at Jaune she just shrugged before continuing on, her curiosity now peaked at their destination. The knight didn't look too happy with her response but followed anyway as the duo came to a stop in an alleyway.

"Umm…Ruby not that I mind being given a tour of your hometown or anything but we really should be getting out of the rain," he complained.

Red frowned and looked around, ignoring her blonde companion entirely. 'Why does this place feel so familiar?' she thought. Suddenly her eyes caught a flash of movement from the rooftops above, wasting no time Red scaled the house in pursuit.

"Ruby! What are you doing?" called Jaune, running after her.

She didn't answer, focused entirely on the person in front of her. 'This is bad it could be one of their agents I can't let them escape,' she thought as Jaune voice grew faint. The chase between the two continued and Red was forced to grudgingly admit that this person was no novice. There was no wasted movements in their form and they had a good eye, picking out the best paths for rooftop to rooftop. Red smirked, they were good but she was better and slowly the distance between them began to close, she could now see that her target was a blonde female.

Red was close enough to hear her mumbling, "oh man I'm gonna be late," before the blonde pick up speed.

'Late? Late for what?' thought Red as she matched the blonde's speed. Her target was moving fast now, way too fast for anyone to be moving in a storm of this size. In fact the only reason Red was doing so was because she was confident her aura would protect her, however the blonde didn't have that luxury.

"Hey stop! You're going to get yourself killed!" cried Red, racing to catch up.

Her target didn't respond and just kept running, her feet barely touching the wet tiles as she continued. Instantly Red was filled with a sudden sense of déjà vu as she watched with wide eyes as the blonde slipped on one of the wet tiles. For an instant Red saw her face, screaming as she fell and in that instant Red felt her blood run cold.

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><p>"Captain you're needed down in the labs," reported the soldier.<p>

"Thank you Sergeant," she replied.

The sergeant saluted and walked off as Leah headed down to the labs, 'let's see what the doctor has found.' As she walked in she saw the doctor was still sitting at the same desk and seemed to be so consumed by the task that he didn't notice her approach.

"…Ich liebe Dich auch," he said into the computer screen.

'It's been a while since I've heard him speak in his native tongue,' she thought as watched him close what looked to be a skype call.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, trying to mask her suspicion.

The doctor jumped and spun around, breathing out a sigh of relief upon seeing her, "you remember my daughter I told you about? Well I had planned to visit her soon but then all this happened and now I'll be lucky to see her again within a month. So I decided to call her you know, see how she's coping there."

Leah's expression softened, she did remember seeing pictures of his albino daughter and if what he said about her is true, then it did make sense that he would want to keep in touch.

"Still you should know that unauthorized calls are against protocol, I'm going to have to call it in," she replied.

His shoulders slumped as he sighed, "yes Captain I wouldn't have expected anything less from you."

"So what did you find out about our escapee?" said the captain, taking a seat across from him.

"Well I found out why the first test gave false results," replied the doctor as he brought up a string of data.

"Doc you're going to have to explain it to me, all I see are meaningless graphs and numbers," she informed him.

"Basically her Earth aura was only partially active at the time of the test, meaning the only parts we could detect would've been masked by her large pools of Remnant aura. Since it was already partially active it would be relatively easy to full awaken it while we were gone from the room," he explained.

Leah frowned, "do you know what stage she is at? Right now we've got indications that she's either stage one or two."

He shook his head, "no I don't have enough data to make an assumption she could be at stage four or even Feral for all I know."

Leah just sighed and began rubbing her temples, "is there anything you do know?" she asked, exasperated.

He just smiled and brought up a picture she recognized from earlier, "I've done numerous scans on the VIP's aura as well as Laura Doe's and it turns out that they match. Both her Remnant as well as the few pieces of Earth aura that I managed to isolate match Miss Doe's aura completely."

Seeing a triumphant grin appear on her face he frowned, "however just because they have the same aura doesn't mean they are the same person."

Leah blinked in confusion as she looked at the doctor, "what do you mean?"

He turned to look at her, "the way her aura is arranged is odd. You see most of her aura is a mix between the two, capable of acting as both types however from what we've seen this 'mixture' shows far more Remnant characteristics the it does Earth."

The doctor turned back to the computer as his frown deepened, "taking this into account there are also specific pieces, fragments if you will, of pure Remnant and Earth aura remaining. It's almost as if someone broke down a weak Earth and a strong Remnant aura before shoving the two together."

She just frowned, "and what does that mean?"

He spun around to face her, a serious expression on his face, "it means Captain that we might not be dealing with Laura, at least not completely."

"So we're back to square one," growled Leah.

"Not entirely, if we can't find her why don't we just bring her to us?" he smirked.

Leah's eyes narrowed, "what do you mean?"

"Laura had parents nearby, we could capture them or even kill them. If the individual is indeed her then I doubt that she would stay in hiding after something like that," he suggested.

She thought about it before shaking her head, "we have no idea what her current mental state is, by killing her parents we could cause her to go Feral and start a rampage."

"We've done it before and there were no problems," argued the doctor.

"There's a difference between covering up a couple of murders in a small town to a string of murders in the nation's capital city. Even if we use a scape goat the press will still draw too much attention to us, not to mention someone might start connecting the dots between these murders and numerous other 'beast attacks' throughout the country," she replied.

"Very well I see your point but we should at least monitor the house," he said.

Leah nodded, "agreed besides you're forgetting we can still draw her out, we have something she wants."

"And what might that be?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"A way home," replied the captain.

He nodded and turned back to his computer screen as Leah left the labs, sighing at the thought of explaining the doctor's theory to Command.

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><p>Jaune sighed as he finally caught up to Ruby, whom was kneeling on the ground as if examining the pavement.<p>

"Ruby please don't do that it's hard enough to keep up with you on the ground let alone when you use the rooftops. Where'd you learn to do that anyway?" he asked.

Ruby didn't answer and instead began to trace her hand alone the concrete, causing Jaune to frown with worry. 'What's going on I saw her jump onto the roof before running off, almost as if she was chasing something,' he thought as he cautiously approached.

"Umm… Ruby you okay?" he said, only to get the silent treatment yet again.

Ruby stood up from the ground, "it's here, this is where it happened," she stated, walking over to a cross on a nearby pole.

"Ruby you're starting to freak me out, what happened here?" asked the knight in complete confusion.

This seemed to snap her out of it as she turned to face him with weary eyes, "this is where I died Jaune," she replied.

"Oh," replied Jaune.

'What am I supposed to say? Gee that sucks, at least your back now? Argh damn it,' he thought, angrily running his figures through his hair.

Eventually he just sighed and walked up to her, "how'd it happen?" he asked, gently.

She looked up to him with a sad smile, "I was cocky and stupid, I was so confident in my abilities that I didn't even care about the danger I was getting myself into. I thought I was bullet proof, I was wrong. A single mistake was all it took, a single slip on a wet tile and I was done."

Jaune gave her a surprised look before falling silent, 'what would Pyrrha do in this situation?' She always knew what to do to get them back on task, even Nora couldn't refuse her. Snapping the thought from his head he refocused his attention back on Ruby.

"Ruby we should go now, we need to figure how to get back to Beacon," he said, causing her to glance up.

"That's impossible," informed Ruby with a shake of her head.

"Wh-What do you mean impossible?" he stuttered out.

"I mean that the only way we can get back to Remnant is to go back to the base," she replied.

"So we just go back," he said, confused.

"And do what Jaune? Fight our way to whatever they use to go to Remnant? Do you even know what you're looking for?" questioned Ruby, furiously.

"These are no two-bit street thugs or White Fang grunts, all of them are trained military personnel. I barely got us out of there and that's only because I caught them by surprise, going back there is tantamount to suicide," she finished.

"So what we're supposed to just live on the streets and steal for a living!" he cried, angrily.

"At least it's living!" she shot back.

Taking a deep breath Jaune sighed as he looked down at the ground, "this is your home, I suppose it is too much to ask you to leave it again after you just got back."

Ruby's expression softened and she looked away, "I'm sorry Jaune but if you're going back there you're going alone."

He nodded and gave her a sad smile as he stuck out his hand, "take care of yourself Red maybe we'll see each other again."

She returned the smile and shook his hand, "goodbye Jaune I hope you make it back to your team."

Jaune waved at her before turning and leaving the alleyway, the rain pelting down on the two friends as if weeping the tears they could not shed.

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><p><strong>So there you go how many of you knew it was Adam, come on be honest. Yeah it was pretty obvious wasn't it, also my apologies to any German speakers I had to use google translate on that part so it was probably shit. Well hope you guys liked the chapter.<strong>


	21. Reunions all around

**Hey guys boy this chapter took forever to write, it left me quite literally drained afterwards. I'm kind of glad to be returning to canon now as my creativity has been bleed dry. Still I'm happy how this chapter turned out and hope you guys enjoyed it. Also the ending to season 2 was great I loved the Velvet joke they put in and who is that masked person? Yang's twin or her mother? God the wait for season 3 will be unbearable.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did it would not be as popular.**

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><p>Jaune frowned as he looked over the base and could only marvel that Ruby had escaped this place, let alone with him on her back. Looking for a way in he smiled seeing a tree branching out over the fence, the drop to the jump was high but he was sure that his aura would protect him or failing that heal him. 'Come on Jaune you're the only one who struggles with aura, even Ruby could do it and she was in a different body!' he thought, furiously. Climbing up the tree he took a deep breath, boosting his confidence before leaping from the branch. Landing he rolled like he'd seen Ruby do a couple of times and gritted his teeth waiting for the pain that never came. Blinking he looked down at his legs just in time to see them briefly covered in a faint white glow before the light disappeared.<p>

"I-I did it," he whispered in disbelief.

"You heard the announcement the Captain wants everyone in the hanger ASAP, this better be important," growled a gruff male voice.

"Sergeant I'm telling you I saw a flash of light from over here," said another male voice.

'Oh crap,' thought Jaune panicky as he searched for a hiding spot, eventually settling on climbing up the drainage pipe. Looking down he saw a trio of armed men walking around below him, unfortunately his poor grip on the pipe was beginning to loosen. 'Not now just a few more minutes,' he begged, silently. Unfortunately lady luck wasn't smiling on the poor blonde today and his grip finally slipped as he fell to the ground.

Looking up he saw the trio pointing their weapons at him, "umm…don't mind me I'm just dropping in," he joked with a laugh.

The older male looked unimpressed, "boy you're in a heap of trouble," he said before Jaune felt something hit him in the back of the head and everything went black.

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><p>Red sighed as she walked down the streets, her eyes constantly darting from corner to corner searching for danger. 'Guess I'm not as much of a hero as you after all, right Ruby?' she thought, sadly. Her mind elsewhere she didn't notice where her feet were carrying her until she found herself in the middle of the shopping district. Looking around she noticed numerous decorations on the stores, mostly skeletons, witches and pumpkins with faces carved in them. Red frowned, 'this is…Halloween! But that was ages away, have I really been gone for that long?' she wondered. Walking through the area she heard her stomach grumble as the smell of freshly baked filled her nose. Looking into the bakery window Red felt drool start to run out of her mouth as she pressed herself up against the glass.<p>

"Well someone looks hungry," laughed a male voice behind her.

Eyes widening Red spun around and nearly fainted at the sight that greeted her. 'Why is he here? Anyone but him,' she thought, fearfully. Backing up slightly she just stared at him, unwilling to trust herself to speak.

He just smiled, "what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"The name's Ellis nice to meet you," his said, holding out his hand.

Red just stared at it dumbly before her brain started working again, "my name's Re-nee, Renee Rose," she lied, shaking his hand.

He smirked, "well then 'Renee' want something to eat, my treat."

"No no that's fine I should get going anyway," she replied, hastily waving her arms for emphasis.

Immediately her stomach gave a large growl in protest, causing Ellis to laugh and Red to flush in embarrassment.

"It seems your stomach disagrees," he said, grabbing her hand before walking into the bakery.

Ignoring his protesting passenger Ellis walked up to the counter, "can I get a muffin and a bag of cookies for my friend here?"

Paying for their orders he dragged Red to a nearby bench before handing her the bag, "so 'Renee' mind telling what's wrong," he asked, gently.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, gruffly grabbing a handful of cookies and shoving them into her mouth.

"I'll bet," he scoffed, taking a bite of his muffin.

"Why do you care anyway? You just help out random people on the street?" she shot back, aggressively.

"The expression on your face. When I saw it, it looked just like one of my friend's when she was in over her head, which happened quite frequently," he explained with a laugh.

"Oh really and you didn't have anything to do with it?" snapped an annoyed Red.

"Well maybe a little," he admitted, sheepishly.

"Somehow I seriously doubt that," she huffed.

Glaring at each other they both burst into laughter, drawing surprised looks from those nearby. As they finally got themselves under control the duo fell into a comfortable silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Your friend, can you tell me about her?" asked Red.

Ellis just leaned back with a thoughtful expression on his face, "she wasn't the strongest or the fastest, in fact she had no real power at all."

A grin began to spread along his face as he continued, "but she was determined, loyal and stubborn to a fault. No matter how bad things got if I needed help I could always count on her to back me up."

…_is it not strange how often, in the later stages of the game, the King finds himself abandoned by his Queen, his religious advisors, his castles and his knights, yet defended by a few loyal pawns?_

Getting up from the bench and with a thoughtful expression she handed the bag back to him, "thanks for everything Ellis I won't forget it."

"It was just a bag of cookies," he said with a wave of his hand.

"No it wasn't," she replied before sprinting off.

The white haired boy smiled as he watched her go, "cya later Red," he whispered.

* * *

><p>Yang and her teammates watched as three bullheads surrounded the non-descript building, landing troops on the roof and at the entrance. It wasn't long after that a stream of smoke rushed towards one of the aircraft before the entire bullhead exploded. Upon seeing this the other two retreated and left the rocketeers to the ground forces, whom began to breach the entrance doors.<p>

"Did they just take out a Bullhead in one hit?" exclaimed Weiss in shock.

"With weapons like that it's no wonder the White Fang wanted their support," said Blake.

"Guess we should be glad they had a falling out huh," agreed Yang.

Seeing the front entrance turning into a warzone the trio of huntresses approached from the back of the building, hoping to sneak in. However there was no exploitable opening for them unless they made one themselves, announcing their presence to the whole place. Approaching the last door Yang growled as it was securely locked, not even Blake could pick it. Taking a quick breather Weiss and Blake began to compare different strategies to break in when Yang noticed something on the wall. It was a metal device near the door with the imprint of a hand. Her curiosity getting the better of her Yang placed her hand on it and was shocked to see it light up, a blue line moving up and down her hand. Not long after a green light popped up and the door swung up, leaving them all briefly stunned.

"Yang what did you do?" asked Weiss, confused.

"I don't know I just put my hand on that wall panel and it opened," she replied, equally confused.

"Does it really matter? We need to keep moving," reminded Blake.

They both nodded and followed the Faunus down the red illuminated hallways, the sounds of the fighting getting fainter the further they went in. Eventually the team hit another locked door and once again Yang spotted a similar looking panel. This time Weiss tried it only to get a loud beep and a red light, they both turned to Yang as she placed her hand on it. Sure enough a green light showed up and the door opened once again to reveal a small room. As the group cautiously made their way in a screen suddenly came to life, causing all of them to jump as they whirled to face it.

"Aura scan completed authorization confirmed, Welcome Captain Leah how may I assist you?" announced a computerized voice.

"Whose Captain Leah?" whispered Yang.

"I think you are Yang," whispered back Blake.

"What but I've never been called that in my life," informed the blonde.

"You really want to tell the machine that?" shot back Weiss

"Point taken," agreed Yang before turning to face the computer.

"I need a map of the building as well as the location of Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc," she ordered.

"The VIP's last known whereabouts was in the Vytal branch HQ back on Earth," it replied as a map appeared on the screen.

"What do you mean last known location," asked Blake.

"My apologies you do not have proper authorization," said the computer.

"Consider any questions from my two teammates to be asked by me," ordered Yang.

"Yes Captain, the VIPs escaped the holding facility and their current location is unknown as per your report. Would you like to review it?" it asked.

"No, now how did they get to Earth," she responded.

There was a brief pause as if the machine was confused before a response came, "the portal of course, as you are aware there is no other option."

"Where are we and where is the portal?" asked Weiss.

Two red dots appeared on the map, one labelled auxiliary control room and the other simply portal. Nodding the heiress took a picture on her scroll, thankfully the flash was covered up by Blake quickly closing the door.

"Why was she captured?" questioned Yang.

"The science department wanted to examine the effects of having two different auras on the body, while also preventing her from going Feral," informed the machine.

"What do you mean Feral?" said Blake

* * *

><p>Leah and her companion were in the process of reporting to command when the alarm sounded, "what's going on?" demanded the commander.<p>

"Control what the hell is happening!" she roared into the intercom.

"Our main outpost in Vale is sending out a distress call. Uh Captain you're going to want to see this I'm patching you through the security camera footage now," informed a worried voice from the other end.

They watched as a screen flashed to life revealing two teens, a 20 something women and a very recognizable man wearing a fedora hat before the camera footage turned to static.

"That's Roman but if he survived then that means…" she trailed off as the screen switched to another image.

This one showing their own outnumbered security force exchanging fire with their attackers, focusing in showed all the invaders wore grim masks on their faces and had a bloody wolf emblazoned on their backs.

"Damn it the White Fang, how the hell did they find us?" she growled.

"Are these the terrorists you mentioned in the report?" asked the commander.

Leah nodded, "yes Commander, we used them as proxies to capture the VIP before breaking all ties and attempting to sabotage them. It appears that the plan didn't work."

"This VIP has proven to be more trouble the she's worth Doctor," he commented.

The doctor straightened up, "Commander you must understand, the potential benefits from her are astronomical, it could change our very lives. The numerous diseases that plague humanity gone without any sort of medical treatment, any wounded soldiers able to heal themselves on the field to name only a couple."

"Which mean nothing if there is no VIP to study Doctor," retorted the commander.

"Captain you know what to do," he continued.

"Sir, yes sir," she replied, saluting as the commander's screen shut off.

"All combat personal report to hanger A4 for deployment against enemy forces this is not a drill, as of this moment Winter Contingency has been declared," announced the captain into the base wide intercom.

Nodding to her companion they ran down to the hanger as alarms began blaring louder, "Captain on deck!" shouted a soldier.

The assembled soldiers all snapped salutes, "at ease soldiers, as you know Winter Contingency has been declared. Therefore you are being deployed to our main facility in Vale, the enemy is the White Fang a group of Faunus terrorists," she explained.

"They aren't as well trained as you but they out number you and have access to aura, do not underestimate them. Remember you have 20 minutes, good luck," warned Leah.

Turning to the doctor she nodded and he and his team began typing into their computers as the portal began to hum before emitting a soft blue light. Seeing this the army loaded their weapons and charged through only to disappear in a flash of blue light. As the last of them disappeared into the portal the hum stopped and the light died down, the portal becoming nothing more than an odd statue.

"20 minutes isn't enough time for them to evacuate the whole facility," pointed out the doctor.

"I know but it's as much as we can spare," she replied, gripping the hand rails tightly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, he's a good fighter and leader," he assured her.

"Yeah," she replied, her mind elsewhere.

"Captain we have something you might want to see," came a voice from down below.

Snapping out of her stupor they both turned to see three men dragging along a struggling Jaune, 'of all the moments to pick,' she thought sighing.

* * *

><p>"Recording from science department evaluation number 117 dated 3.5 years ago," informed the computer.<p>

All three watched as the screen flared to life revealing a man in a lab coat walking around a machine of some kind. Neither Yang nor Blake noticed a quite gasp of shock coming from their white haired teammate at the sight of him.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming and allowing my research to continue," began the man.

"That remains to be seen Doctor. Now skip the pleasantries and show us the results of your research, the council and I will decide if it is worth the budget we devote to it," ordered a male voice from off screen.

"Yes Commander," replied the doctor before sitting down in front of the machine.

"Unfortunately we have yet to discover how our aura's precognitive ability works but we have discovered that it is a passive effect that is constantly active, often called the 'sixth sense,'" he began.

Yang and the others watched as the screen flashed to two people in a room, one holding a card and the other guessing the shape on it. Their eyes widen as the person got it right again and again, 'that's more than luck something's going on here,' realized Yang as the screen returned to the doctor.

"In this state it can only detect very general threats however if it is being used consciously the subjects can use it to predict and detect future outcomes of events and not just threats. The ability's strength depends on the person, some can only predict cards while others are able to predict minute details of events months in advance," he finished.

"Doctor we were hoping for something more tangible then this, what about the other abilities and the…side effects?" questioned the commander.

"Unlike the previous ability this is not a passive one and for good reason as I'm sure you all know. Through my research I have identified five different stages in the development of our aura in humans as well as the basics on how it affects the body," he continued.

Suddenly the screen was replaced by a picture of a human head, the team watched as it zoomed into the head until it reached a picture of a brain glowing with a soft blue light. No one said a word as they stared at the screen, waiting.

"This is the brain of an individual whose aura is dormant as you can see there are no irregularities," came the doctor's voice.

Once again the screen zoomed in and they saw blue networked structures with lights moving though all of them.

"What are those lights?" asked the commander.

"It's a person's life, experiences, memories, it's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique and human," replied the doctor.

"Doctor we don't have time for you to beat around the bush," growled the other voice.

"Those are synapses, electrical impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death," he answered.

The team was silent was they absorbed this latest bit of information with wide eyes, it was clear that earth medical technology was years ahead of their own. 'Still they weren't able to use aura to heal themselves so it's only natural they'd have advanced medicine,' thought Yang frowning.

"The human brain is one of the most advanced supercomputers known to man but even it has its limits and like all computers it needs to prioritize functions. It's because of this that we are so susceptible to illusions and sleight of hand in things like magic shows," informed the doctor.

"When we use our aura it changes what our brain prioritize as the most important task which has a domino effect on the rest of the body. The brain has to place more emphases on sensory analysis due to our aura enhancing all our senses," he continued.

Team RWBY jumped and turned to each other in surprise as the building shook and explosions were heard. Weiss and Blake quickly checked the hallway and sighed in relief upon seeing the coast was clear before shutting and locking the door again. They all turned back to the screen watching as it changed to reveal another brain. This one was darker than the other with specific regions that were dimly lit or had no light at all.

"This however comes at a price, as the brain devotes more to your senses it begins to shut down the other non-essential parts of the brain. This includes the areas of the brain responsible for memories, reasoning…emotions. The higher the stage of development the more the brain has to shut down to survive," concluded the doctor sadly.

"With each stage there is a noted increase in aggression levels, nightmares, hallucinations, partial memory loss, paranoia and in the later stages even random bouts of insanity. Many of these victims have also reported seeing shadows and hearing 'whispers' so far the meaning of these are unknown," he listed.

Yang felt the blood drain from her face as she heard this, 'that's not going to happen I'm not losing Ruby again! There has to be a way to stop it.' Her two teammates gave the blonde a sympathetic look but Yang didn't notice, too caught up with her thoughts to see it.

"My research has shown that most of these side effects are likely due to chemical imbalances in the body. This imbalance is caused by the brain over or under producing hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline and testosterone," he reported.

"You mentioned stages Doctor, care to elaborate?" asked the commander, his voice clearly intrigued.

The brain disappeared as the screen flashed back to the doctor as he got up from the machine and nodded to the camera.

"There are five stages to aura development, these stages seem to be influenced by emotions, feelings of extreme anger, pain, fear and sorrow cause this process to accelerate while vis-versa feelings of joy, compassion and attachment slow or even stop the process entirely," he explained.

"At stage one animalistic traits can be seen on the hosts but there is no real damage to the brain. As the stages increase however these traits become more and more prominent and some odd behaviour can be observed in the subjects. At stage four most bodies are no longer to keep up with the demand, the adrenal glands haemorrhage and the brain goes into shut down followed by the major organs, then death," he continued, sombrely.

'No No! Please let this just be some kind of joke!' thought Yang as tears came to her eyes. Blake gave the sobbing blonde a hug and Weiss just looked at the ground unable or unwilling to break the silence.

"What about stage five Doctor?" replied the commander in a questioning tone.

Looking up they saw the doctor's expression grow even darker, "only one in ten victims are ever unlucky enough to reach stage five. At this stage all higher reasoning, memories, emotions, everything that makes you human are permanently lost. This leaves the victim little more than a violent animal whose sole purpose is to hunt, kill and survive. We have documented cases of them even trying to kill their own family members when given the chance. We have dubbed these subjects Ferals."

"Can they be cured?" asked the commander.

The doctor shook his head sadly as his image was replaced with the picture of a brain, only most of it was dark with the lights concentrated in one area.

"Tell me Commander what do you notice about this brain?" he asked.

"It's dark," replied the commander.

"Dark, lifeless, soulless. At this point the unused areas of the brain have become so damaged that even if the aura was shut off all you would get is a vegetable. The frontal lobes, the neocortex, the human part, that doesn't come back, the you part. They become a shell driven by mindless instinct, once they reach this stage there is only one thing we can do," said the doctor in a faraway voice.

The team watched as the image of a gun was pressed against the person's forehead before a bullet passed through its brain as the last of the lights went dark and the screen turned black. Yang walked up to the computer before turning to Weiss.

"Weiss can you copy this data onto our scrolls?" she asked the heiress.

Weiss snapped out of her shock and frowned, "maybe but it could be encrypted and it might take months to decrypt it from what we've seen of their computer systems."

The blonde just grinned before turning to the computer, "computer copy all data related to Earth auras to the scroll but skip the encryption process."

"This is against protocol, are you sure Captain?" replied the computer.

"Yes I am sure," she replied nodding to Weiss whom plugged in her scroll.

"Understood copying now," announced the computer.

"What do we do now?" asked Blake.

"We wait for the data then continue our search," replied the brawler.

* * *

><p>Jaune slowly opened his eyes as his vision became came back into focus, revealing a large room with some sort of large structure sticking up from the ground. Giving it a closer look he frowned, unable to determine what it was. The structure looked like half a black and white banana sticking up from the ground but it seemed almost elegant in its design, the curves blending with the architecture instead of jutting out and some kind of crystals giving off a faint glow.<p>

"Captain we have something you might want to see," announced one of his captors.

"What is it Sergeant we're very busy right now," came a familiar voice.

Looking up Jaune felt his jaw drop, "Yang! What are you doing here?" he asked in shock.

'Yang' just looked down at him equally confused before recognition flashed in her eyes. Frowning she walked down to him and nodded to his captors, whom released their grasp on his arms.

"Where's your friend?" she asked.

"Yang what are you talking about?" he asked in return.

Apparently that wasn't the answer she was looking for because 'Yang' then growled before punching him in the gut. Coughing and clenching his stomach Jaune fell to the floor, his aura spinning into overdrive as it began to heal his wounds.

"I don't have time nor am I in the mood for these kind of games, now tell me where she is," she ordered.

'She's not Yang, Yang wouldn't do this,' realized Jaune. Groaning he stood back up and turned to face her, examining her closely he began to see differences between them. They looked similar, close enough to pass as twins but it was clear this person was older than the blonde he knew. Her hair was shorter and her eyes lacked the carefree nature he often saw in Yang's.

"I don't know I came alone," he replied, truthfully.

The captain grabbed the collar of his shirt, "I don't believe you," she replied.

Jaune just gave her a weak smile as the captain readied another punch. However before her fist could connect Jaune was surrounded by a white light that blinded everyone present. The group heard the captain cry out in pain and as their eye sight returned they saw her clutching her fist, obviously hurt.

Growling she turned to look at his captors, "Sergeant take him to the interrogation chamber, I'll deal with him after this is over," she instructed.

As the man grabbed his arms they all heard a loud hum fill the room, the captain's eyes widened as they all turned to see the structure beginning to glow a bright blue light before a sphere of blue energy appeared between it and the ground.

"Doctor why is the portal activating it hasn't been 20 minutes yet!" she yelled.

"Someone's activating it from the other side," he called back, frantically.

"What no one should have that level of clearance, who authorized it!" she demanded.

There was a brief pause before the doctor answered in complete confusion, "you did."

She just blinked equally shocked, "well shut it down!" ordered the captain.

"I'm trying but the system needs your authorization, I'm locked out!" he cried.

Jaune watched in complete confusion as the captain cursed and made her way back before feeling the hands restraining him let go. Spinning around he saw the sergeant slam into a wall before collapsing to the ground, the other two following suite as a gush of wind rushed pass Jaune.

Seeing a figure appear before him he smiled, "you're late."

Ruby just chuckled as the captain spun around to face them, "you know you really should do something about the security here, it's god damn awful," she informed her, picking up a discarded knife.

* * *

><p>Team RWBY looked up in alarm as the building shock more violently than ever before, the sounds of battle now much closer and louder.<p>

"What was that?" asked Weiss.

"As per your orders Captain, Winter Contingency is in effect," replied the computer.

"Refresh my memory, what is the Winter Contingency?" asked Yang.

"In the event of a possible hostile takeover of the facility squads from the HQ are deployed to help defend the facility. If this is impossible they are to assist in evacuating the base personnel before the 20 minute mark," it informed them.

"What happens after 20 minutes?" questioned the blonde.

"The portal is activated for a five minute window to allow transportation to Earth before activating the self-destruct function. The resulting E.M.P from the explosion destroys any electronic equipment in the facility ensuring all data remains safe from enemy hands," explained the machine.

"E.M.P?" said Weiss in confusion.

"Electro-magnetic pulse," it replied.

"Oh you mean emp," she said in understanding.

Yang growled, five minutes was not enough time to find Ruby and get back to Vale. "Can you stop it?" she asked, hopefully.

"Negative once the self-destruct timer has been activated it cannot be stopped," said the computer.

"But you could activate the portal earlier and extend the time window? For example keep it open from now to when it self-destructs?" asked Blake.

"Under the Captain's orders, yes," it announced.

"Do it," ordered Yang with a grin.

"System link established, authorization confirmed, locking out other users. Activating Portal now."

Grabbing her scroll Weiss brought up the picture of the map from before, leading them through a maze of doors and corridors. Finally they made it to an enlarged metal door about the size of a Nevermore, nodding to each other Yang placed her hand on the aura scanner as the door unlocked. As the door rose from the ground they had to dive into cover as bullets sprayed into the doorway.

"Looks like they don't want us going back there," commented Blake over the gunfire.

"We don't have time for this," growled Yang.

Looking around Weiss smiled, "Hey Yang how thick do you think these walls are?"

Eyes widen the brawler returned the smile, "not thick enough."

Grinning ear to ear Yang forced as much aura as she could manage into her arms before throwing a punch into the wall. It is a little known fact that engineers build doors far sturdier then they do walls, after all who in their right mind would use a wall instead of a door. This fact was proven as the wall caved in, revealing a squad of soldiers taking cover behind a box of creates. Shocked at the blonde's sudden entrance they didn't notice Weiss and Blake sneak into the room from the open doorway.

"Captain?" said one of them in shock.

Yang just winked at the soldiers as Weiss threw a stasis glyph around them and Blake began to systematically knock out their immobilized foes one by one.

"Well that went better than expected," announced Yang with a grin.

They all turned around as a loud snap was heard followed by a flash of blue light, reading their weapons they prepared to face whatever was about to come through.

* * *

><p>Leah frowned as she watched the escapee grabbed a knife from one of the downed soldiers, this could not have happened at a worse time. With most of the security force trying to hold off the White Fang on the other side the captain would have to deal with this threat herself. 'She obviously doesn't have proper hand to hand training and has to use her aura and speed to make up for it,' she observed.<p>

"Captain be careful we still don't know the extent of her abilities," warned the doctor.

"I know you just get to work shutting down that damn portal," she replied.

Nodding she drew her shotguns from their back holsters and flicked the safeties off. Red just watched her unimpressed and to both Leah's and the doctor's surprise began to glow a blood red colour as her Earth aura traits became visible. 'Is that her earth aura? Why is it not black?' she thought, confused. Meanwhile the doctor began recording everything on the security cameras, silently lamenting the lack of proper equipment.

"You have no idea what kind of powers you are toying with," she growled at Red.

The reaper just gave her a confused look before disappearing from sight. Spinning around in search of her opponent Leah cried out as a sharp pain came alive in her arm. Looking down she saw a large gash across her right arm, hearing something to her left she fired her weapons. However Red again disappeared into rose petals as the explosive shotgun shells tore through the wall, snapping the wires stabilizing a nearby pile of creates.

"Not bad what do you load that stuff with?" whistled Red in admiration.

The blonde just growled and charged her, catching Red by surprise. Switching her grips on the weapons into the basic tonfa stance Leah blocked the incoming knife with her injured side before thrusting the other into her opponent's stomach. Coughing Red quickly darted to the side with her knife aimed at Leah's injured side again, only to meet the business end of the gun as it swiveled to face her.

Leah smiled as she watched Red go flying, "the kid might be an insubordinate prick but he does good work," she mused as the weapons rotated back into place.

Frowning Red dropped her knife exchanging it for a long metal pipe knocked over in the fighting. Twirling it around her Red nodded, apparently satisfied with it and gave Leah a toothy grin. The captain frowned as she got back into her combat stance, instantly re-evaluating her opponent. Bringing her weapons up in an X formation she blocked the impromptu staff with a grunt, her injured arm now beginning to hamper her progress. Still despite this it soon became clear that neither side was going to break through the other's defenses as the sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the hanger. At least until Red decided to start using her semblance and Leah quickly found herself sporting bruises and cracked bones as she was unable to keep up with the speed of the escapee's assault. With an aura infused kick to the gut Leah fell to the floor, feeling her ribs crack.

"You said I don't know what kind of powers I'm using, but I know full well. Aura is a tool, it is there to help us, to protect us. What's there to understand?" commented Red as she and Jaune walked over to the semi-conscious Leah.

"_Sis what are you doing!" she screamed._

_The thing that had once been her sister just growled at her as it stood over its fresh kill, eyeing the blonde with soulless red glowing eyes. Leah looked down at the corpse and felt tears come to her eyes as she recognized her._

"_I'm so sorry Sis, Mom," she said, leveling her shotgun at its head._

Groaning she shook the memory from her head and anger began to fill her mind, "you think aura is there to protect us? You stupid naïve little girl!" she spat.

Leah frowned as she struggled to get up, 'I underestimated her, she might not be good at knife fights but her skill with a staff isn't to be scoffed at even without her semblance. At this rate I'm going to lose,' she realized. Leah looked up at her opponents with a snarl on her face, there was only one choice left she just hoped command wouldn't have her head for this.

* * *

><p>"I swore never to use this again after last time but it looks like I have no choice," growled Leah, standing up.<p>

"Captain that goes against every protocol in the book, are you sure about this?" asked the doctor, worriedly.

"We can't let her escape again," replied Leah.

Red frowned as she pushed Jaune behind cover keeping one hand on her makeshift staff, 'this lump of metal isn't nearly as good as Crescent Rose,' she thought, longingly. She watched cautiously as the captain closed her eyes and gasped as she saw Leah briefly surrounded by a black outline. The blonde grinned as she gripped her shotguns tightly, her eyes opening to reveal the same cat-like pupils as Red's.

"You didn't think you were the only one with an Earth aura did you?" she stated, revealing her sharp canines.

Red glared at the blonde and released her own animalistic growl at her opponent. She would show this weakling who was stronger, who was the alpha. She would dominate her, make this whelp acknowledge her as the leader of the hunt. Blinking briefly Red shook the thoughts from her head before disappearing into rose petals, only to get two shotgun rounds in her face. Momentarily stunned she only just managed to dodge the second volley thanks to her semblance. Taking cover behind a wall she tried to regain her breath, 'how did she do that? There's no way she could have followed my movements and reacted in time like that.'

"How much aura do you have left hmm? The good thing about using armour instead of aura is that you never run out," commented the doctor from above.

Using her aura enhanced senses Red heard the captain approaching her from the left, not letting her take the intuitive the reaper used her semblance to charge Leah. Unfortunately the minute she got close Red felt a hand grab her arm before twisting it. Crying out in pain she dropped the staff and watched as Leah gave a wild grin before slamming her black coated fist into her face. Red was barely able to keep herself conscious as she was sent flying into the metal wall, denting it slightly. Red coughed up blood as she staggered to her feet, noting the decrease in speed of her aura's healing ability. 'That packed more force than even Yang's punches,' she thought, groggily.

"Earth aura might not be as diverse as Remnant but you can't deny its effectiveness. Just do us all a favour and surrender," ordered Leah.

"So we can be cut up as science experiments? Sorry but we're going to have to pass on that," she informed them.

Inside Red's head her mind was racing, 'every time I try to attack her she counters it perfectly. Damn it no one can be that skilled…it's almost as if she knew what I was going to do before I did it.' Eyes widening Red dived behind cover next to Jaune, 'that's it! But how do you beat someone who can predict your every move?'

_No ability is infallible Miss Rose, you would do well to remember that._

"Ruby what happened to your eyes?" asked Jaune concerned, snapping Red from her thoughts.

Blinking she turned to face her friend, "I'll explain later, listen I'll keep these two distracted meanwhile you make a break for the portal."

"But what about you?" he asked, worried.

"Don't worry about me once you're through I'll follow you in, got it?" she replied.

Jaune nodded and Red held up three fingers, silently counting down. Once she reached zero Red jumped from cover before activating her semblance. The captain spun around, her aura indicating where Red would appear next, only to find herself facing empty air. A confused expression crossed her face before being replaced by pain as Red threw an aura infused punch into the captain's gut. Seeing Leah take a hit the doctor's jaw dropped in a comedic expression of shock, which Jaune took as his queue and bolted to the portal.

"Damn it! Doctor shut it down!" called Leah, attempting to stop the blonde boy.

However before she could even touch him Red kicked her in the back of the knees and biting her on the shoulder, causing the blonde to winch and stumble, cursing as she watched Jaune disappear with a flash of blue light. Glaring at Red the blonde stood up, her face twisted into a beastly snarl. Red just smiled as she leaned against a nearby pile of creates before giving them a push. Leah watched helplessly as the pile came crashing down, trapping her underneath them.

"You know the thing about Earth aura is that predicting other's moves makes you yourself predictable Captain, I learnt that the hard way," informed Red with a smirk.

Unfortunately her smirk dropped as the sound of a gun cocking came from behind her. Slowly turning showed the doctor had one of Leah's shotguns pointed at her, near point blank range. Red felt sweat run down her back, most of her aura had been depleted by her fight with the captain and at this range she wasn't sure it was strong enough to protect her.

"Another thing about Earth aura is that if you focus too much on a single opponent it blinds you to others. Now deactivate your aura and slowly place your hands on your head," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"You won't kill me, you need me alive," she retorted.

"We don't need you alive it is just more preferable, a corpse can give us lots of information by itself. Now I won't ask again," he replied.

Sighing Red did as he said, feeling her senses once again grow dull as she shut off the aura flow. The doctor nodded before gesturing for her to move to the side.

As she stepped to the side the doctor walked between her and the trapped blonde, "Captain are you injured?" he asked, keeping his eyes and gun pointed at Red.

"A few cracked ribs, some cuts and bruises and a broken leg, nothing major although I am stuck under a pile of creates," she replied.

The doctor nodded before giving Red a calculating look, "who are you?" he interrogated.

She just frowned, "what do you mean? You all know who I am."

He shook his head, "Ruby Rose sister of Yang Xiao Long and huntress in training at Beacon academy or Laura Doe an only child and until recently an average student from a certain high school. So who are you?" he repeated.

Red blinked, caught completely off guard by this question. She had many memories of her time on Earth sure but even Red could tell they were fragmented, she hadn't even been able to remember her own name. In contrast she didn't have many memories from Remnant but the one's she did have were in perfect detail. In truth she hadn't ever thought about it but he was right, who was she? Ruby or Laura?

The doctor noticed her inner turmoil and his expression softened into a pitying look, "did you not find it strange that you could use Remnant aura as if it was second nature but it has taken you this long to fully awaken your own Earth one?"

Red felt her shoulders slump as the weight of that argument hit home, causing her legs to buckle beneath her.

Sighing he gestured for her to get up, "come with me, you're being detained for trespassing on government property, aiding in the escape of an enemy to the state, assaulting our officers an-"

_CLANG!_

"Doc you okay? Doc!" called Leah.

Hearing the captain's frantic cries she looked up and saw the doctor's eyes roll into the back of his head before collapsing to the floor. Red blinked unable to believe her eyes, there standing over his unconscious opponent was Jaune.

"I thought I told you not to come back," she sighed, exasperated.

"Technically you just said to go through it, you never said anything about not going through again. Besides you're my friend did you really think I'm just going to leave you here?" he replied with a sheepish grin.

"Jaune you're an insane, suicidal, idiot and I wouldn't have you any other way. Now can you give me a hand up I'm exhausted," she grinned as he hoisted her up.

"Well we'll be seeing you around Captain Leah," she teased, turning to the trapped captain.

"Damn you," came the response.

"Let's go everyone's waiting for you on the other side," said Jaune, grabbing her hand.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"You'll see," he smiled as they were both engulfed in a blue light.

* * *

><p>"Jaune I take back what I said earlier you're all insane!" cried Ruby as they all ran down hallways, dodging fire from both factions as they tried to escape.<p>

"Says the one who bluffed her way through a Schnee outpost," shot back Weiss.

"Sanity is for the weak," laughed Yang.

"At least it would never get boring," agreed Jaune.

"Blake help me out here," cried Ruby.

The Faunus just shook her head and smiled at the joking atmosphere they were sharing. After Jaune came through they were given a backlashed of information such as Ruby fighting 'Yang's evil twin.' Not long after though they were attacked by a group of soldiers while Jaune went back to help Ruby, leaving the trio to hold them off until they returned. The end result, all of them were now running for their lives as the countdown slowly continued.

"So what's the escape plan guys?" asked Ruby, confused.

Ducking as a round passed over their heads Blake glanced at her, "there's a back door we used to sneak in if we can get there we'll be home free."

"So basically keep running," summarized the reaper.

"Basically," replied the Faunus.

"There it is!" exclaimed Yang, happily.

Sure enough there was the exit, the door still open from when they used it last. Cheering at the familiar sight of a shattered moon over their heads they continued running until they'd left the building far behind. Collapsing on the street all of them took a well-earned breather as they saw police lights beginning to approach.

Sighing Yang got off the ground and gave Ruby a hug, bursting into tears, "I thought I'd lost you again," she sobbed.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily sis," replied Ruby, returning the hug.

"Umm guys not to ruin the moment or anything but how are we going to explain this to the Headmaster?" asked Jaune.

Everyone froze a single thought running through their heads, 'crap.'

* * *

><p>"So she escaped," said the doctor.<p>

The captain nodded, "what's the final head count?"

He looked down at his tablet, "16 confirmed KIA and another 20 MIA by the time the portal closed," he reported.

Leah sighed tiredly, "what about our smaller outposts scattered around Vytal?"

The doctor shook his head, "unknown we've lost all contact with them, last report seems to indicate they're safe at least for the moment."

"Could we use our facilities in the other kingdoms to contact them?" she asked.

He frowned, "it would take a couple of months to install the long range communication and with the amount of travel between the kingdoms being limited by Grimm delivering messages by hand is not feasible."

"I think we need to accept that Vytal is out of our influence for now," he concluded.

Leah nodded, "double the number of security we have stationed at the portal sites in the other kingdoms. Until we know how the White Fang found us they are to be on high alert, we have no idea if their locations have been compromised."

The doctor nodded as Leah walked off, "I'm going to go report this to Command," she informed him.

"If you need me I'll be down in the labs," he replied.

Heading down to his work station he switched on the machine, sighing as the usual welcome message popped up. Flicking through his recent data on the VIP he frowned, no matter what he just couldn't seem to focus on the task. Sighing he opened up Skype before being greeted with the face of an albino girl he'd seen many times before.

"Dad are you alright? You look dead tired, they're not working you too hard are they?" she asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me, how are things with you?" he said, dodging the question.

The girl's eyes narrowed but she didn't push any further, "I've been feeling better, the nurse said I'm scheduled for another chemotherapy session in a couple of days."

He nodded, "I will cure you, I swear it," he promised.

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it," she replied with a sad smile.

He glanced at the data on the other screen, "I'm making progress for the first time I have some solid data to analyze," he said.

She gave him a concerned look, "just don't work yourself too hard, you need sleep just as much as I."

He smiled, "don't worry Snow Angel I'll be fine."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay guys so how'd you like that? Anyway red glowing eyes, mindless instincts to hunt and kill, is it just me or do Ferals sound very familiar for some reason. Also with the portal picture an Eldar Webway gate from DoW II, I tried to describe it as best as I could but it is really hard to describe them to people who aren't 40K fans. <strong>

**P.S. I was thinking of doing a Civilisation Beyond Earth and Mass Effect crossover, let me know what you guys think.**


	22. Trial and Error

**Well here we go the start of volume 2 hope you guys enjoy it. **

**I don't own RWBY otherwise we would see machine gun gauntlets kind of like STR from BRS, now that would be cool.**

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><p>Team RWBY plus Jaune stood in Ozpin's office, eyeing the floor as Prof. Goodwitch continued her angry lecture at the poor students. Meanwhile Ozpin just watched with mild amusement as each of them flinched under Glynda's angry gaze.<p>

"Never in all my time have I met a team as reckless and disobedient as you all. You not only knew about an upcoming White Fang raid and refused to tell us but you also participated in it," ranted the professor.

"But it all worked out in the end besides if we weren't there then Ruby and Jaune wouldn't have been able to escape," argued Yang.

"That is beside the point, you should have come straight to us the moment you received this information. I have half a mind to give you all detention for the rest of the week," threatened Glynda.

Red immediately paled before she spoke up, "P-Prof. Goodwitch since Jaune and I had nothing to do with my team's reckless and disrespecting action can we be excused from detention?" she all but begged.

Her three teammates all glared at her, "traitor," muttered Yang.

Ozpin had to hide a smile as a thoughtful look crossed Glynda's face, "you make a valid point, very well Mr. Arc you can go."

Jaune looked relieved as turned towards the door, all but sprinting out of the office as Red turned to follow.

"Not you Miss Rose, turn around," she ordered.

"But why I had nothing to do with this!" cried Red.

The professor didn't look impressed by her outburst, "as leader of team RWBY it is your job to discipline them which as we can see has failed miserably therefore you must accept the consequences of their actions."

"It's true," cried Yang with a fake sob. "I remember how she got our little Weiss here involved in one of her schemes, the poor girl just isn't the same."

Catching on quickly Weiss followed suite, "she kept trying to get me involved with her other scams sir. I remember she kept saying, they're more guidelines then actual rules."

Blake smiled before quickly covering it up with fake tears, "why on the day she was kidnapped I remember her starting a riot in History class over a page of notes, Prof. Oobleck was very upset."

Both the professors blinked and turned to look at Red, "umm…they're exaggerating?" she tried with an innocent expression.

Judging by the frown on Glynda's face the expression had little effect, "but they aren't lying? Very well Miss Rose you are going to report to detention for the rest of the week," she announced.

"What!" shouted Red, a shattering sound being heard by all in the room.

"Glynda don't you think that is a bit harsh, she just got back after all," commented Ozpin.

Red looked up to him with a grateful smile, "thank you Headmaster."

A small grin appeared on his face at this, "I think just one days of detention will be enough, the rest of you are dismissed," he concluded, amused.

Red swallowed as Glynda grabbed her hand and began dragging her to the detention room, passing her teammates she saw them all with her own trademarked smirk on their faces.

"You better sleep with one eye open tonight!" she raged at them as the door to Ozpin's office slammed shut.

* * *

><p>Red sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes as she made her way over to team CRDL's table before taking a seat next to Cardin. All of them looked at each other in confusion, seeing Red barely able to keep her eyes open as she struggled to eat her strawberry flavored cereal.<p>

"Hey Red, welcome back. Umm… why the long face?" asked Cardin.

Red growled angrily, "I just spent most the night in a late night detention session with Goodwitch, so forgive me if I'm not in the best moods."

They all jumped at her angry response, Russel mentioning something about it being 'that time of the month' before stopping mid-sentence at the glare she sent him.

"Finish that sentence Russel and you'll find yourself learning to fly off the roof," she threatened.

"Anyway that isn't very fair you just got back, shouldn't your teammates have covered for you?" exclaimed Cardin, getting them back on topic for Russ's sake.

Red's expression darkened considerably, "who do you think it was that ratted me out in the first place?" she hissed.

Cardin blinked, "oh so you're giving them the cold shoulder then?"

She nodded before her customary smirk spread across her face, "for now but I'm patient I can wait awhile. I will have my revenge though, you can be sure of that."

"Speak of the devil," commented Sky, pointing as the rest of team RWBY and JNPR entered the cafeteria.

All of them watched as the two teams took their usual seats, Blake was reading a book until Yang began pestering her and Weiss seemed content just drinking her tea. Watching as Yang and Nora began to throw food at each other a Cheshire grin grew on her face as she turned to Cardin.

"No I'm not helping!" he cried, immediately.

Red frowned, "but you haven't even heard what I'm going to say yet."

"It doesn't matter. Every time you get that expression on your face it means you've got a scheme planned and I always get pulled into it. I do not want another detention session with Goodwitch," he replied, crossing his arms.

Red gave a fake sob as she looked at him with a pout that would make even the most hardened criminals putty in her hands. Unfortunately after hanging around with her for so long Cardin had grown had immunity to this and just turned to look away.

"Fine be that way then, more fun for me," she replied, eventually giving up.

Realizing something bad was going to happen team CRDL grabbed all their food before rushing out of the cafeteria, deciding to eat it in the relative safety of their dorm. Seeing them run Red merely shrugged before getting as close to the two teams as she could without them seeing her. Grinning evilly Red picked up an apple, weighing it in her hand. Nodding in satisfaction she waited until Nora grabbed a nearby pie to throw at the blonde. As the ginger threw it Red's smile grew, tracking it's movements she used her semblance to throw the apple into the pie. The apple shot through the air so faster that it was just a little blur as it tapped the pie mid-flight causing it to veer off course. 'Bingo,' thought Red happily as the pie soared through the air and hit Weiss in the face. Her job done Red snuck away to watch the end result of her work, struggling to keep herself from bursting into laughter. Neither team noticed her sneaking away as they all turned to face Nora whom just pointed a finger at Ren.

There was a brief moment of silence before Yang stood up, "this means WAR!" she declared, flipping the table and picking up a couple of turkeys as gauntlets.

Red's mouth dropped open as within several seconds the entire cafeteria had been turned into a battleground, soon she was the only one watching as everyone else fled to the safety of outside. Team JNPR had gathered most of the chairs and tables into a fort with Nora sing how she was 'king of the castle.' Meanwhile the WBY of team RWBY had gathered on the floor each armed with a food item. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,' thought Red worriedly as JNPR began bombarding RWBY with watermelons. Hearing the door behind her open and a two gasps, one of shock and one of admiration, she turned around to see Sun and a blue haired boy she'd never seen before.

"Wow Red here for only one day and look what's happened, you work fast don't you," teased the monkey Faunus.

"Ha ha very funny Sun, this wasn't… my… fault," she said, hesitantly.

"You don't sound too sure of yourself," commented the blue haired boy.

Red was about to respond when her aura warned her of something incoming, quickly diving to the ground she only just avoided a soda can that then hit the blue boy. Shortly after this the can exploded, coating him in a purple liquid. As she got up from the ground Red and Sun turned to his friend, stifling the laughter that threatened to escape them.

"Red meet my friend and teammate Neptune, Neptune meet Red," introduced Sun, unable to keep a smirk off his face.

"Thanks for looking after my idiot teammate," said Neptune, holding out his hand.

"No problem but how come he stowed away on a boat when he could have just arrived with you guys?" she asked, curiously.

Neptune grinned, "boy do I have some stories to tell you."

"Which we agreed never to bring up again Neptune," growled Sun.

The blue haired boy's grin only widened, "of course Sun I wouldn't dream of it," he replied.

Red looked between the two of them and just shrugged before turning back to watch the ongoing food fight. Currently Pyrrha was dueling Blake with bread sticks, Nora fighting Weiss using a melon hammer and the heiress using a fish as a rapier. Meanwhile Yang was nowhere to be seen and Ren was lying on the ground, Jaune appeared to be picking himself up from the floor but seemed to be struggling.

"Umm…shouldn't we stop this it's getting a bit too serious," commented Neptune.

"Don't worry," replied Red with a wave of her hand. "They're all smart, none of them would take this too far, well except maybe Nora… I hope."

As if to prove her wrong the minute Red finished Pyrrha placed her hand on the ground and activated her semblance. All three gasped as they saw a horde of cans begin to levitate around the red head which then preceded to crash into Blake, smashing the Faunus against the wall. Red was so preoccupied with this spectacle that she failed to notice some stray bits of food and cans coming right for her. Growling she removed the pieces of salad from her hair and looked down at her now multicoloured outfit, trembling with rage.

"That's it!" she cried, drawing the attention of the two teams.

Getting into a footballer's stance she activated her semblance, using her speed to round up the remaining cans and food. Rushing past the two teams she caused both Blake and Weiss as well as team JNPR to get caught up in the slipstream. Stopping in front of a wall she caused it to crack before dodging out of the way as her six victims hit the wall, followed by a wave of food and cans. Red smiled as she watched them all collapse to the ground, their outlines still visible on the wall. Her smile dropped however as she turned to see a very angry Prof. Goodwitch strolling in before waving her crop and the room instantly repaired itself.

"Children please do not play with your food," hissed the professor before turning to Red.

"Now Miss Rose care to explain this," she demanded.

"Why do you think I'm responsible for it?" shot back Red.

Glynda just glared at her, "name one incident like this that has happened and you weren't responsible for," she replied.

Before Red could argue they all heard a cracking sound as Yang fell through the roof and broke one of the tables. She wasn't sure who started laughing first but within a couple of seconds all of them were unable to control themselves and the sound of laughter filled the cafeteria.

Glynda just growled before feeling someone place a hand on her shoulder, "let it go," ordered Ozpin.

She sighed, "they're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be but right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part, after all it isn't a role they'll have forever," he replied, walking up to Red.

"Miss Rose," he said, causing the laughter to cease. "I would like to see you in my office tomorrow and before you asked no you are not in trouble."

With that he and Glynda walked away leaving a very confused and relieved Red to release a breath she didn't know she was holding.

* * *

><p>Yang groaned as she got herself up from the broken table, picking at the pieces of watermelon still stuck in her hair. Looking around at the two now multicoloured teams she smiled and took a seat on one of the undamaged chairs, the others following suite.<p>

"Hey Ruby how come your eyes went weird that time? You never explained it," asked Jaune, making everyone turn to look at Ruby.

A confused expression crossed the reapers face before being replaced with an understanding smile, "that's right I haven't show you guys yet," she exclaimed.

"Shown us what Sis?" asked Yang, confused.

Ruby smiled, "I picked up some new tricks back on Earth."

"Oh oh what is it? Is it magic tricks? I love magic tricks especially where they pull a bunny out of a hat. What about making lien appear from nowhere? We could buy all the pancakes in the world! No make pancakes appear from nowhere, that's even better!" listed Nora, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Nora I've told you there's no such thing as magic," sighed Ren.

"Quiet Muggle!" shouted the ginger.

Hearing Ruby clear her throat Yang turned to face her and froze, Ruby's eyes were black where they should have been white and her pupils reminded her of Blake's. She fearfully glanced at her two teammates and saw them nod to her, they knew as well.

"Apparently this is part of Earth aura's abilities. It's great! I can track smells, see better than probably even Faunus in the dark and my hearing's amazing. Well what'd you guys think?" she asked, revealing her sharp canines.

"Oh my god that's so cool!" cried Nora, loudly.

To the surprise of everyone present Ruby gave a high pitch inhuman yelp before covering her ears, "please Nora not so loud, my hearing is sensitive."

"Sorry," apologized the ginger in a much softer voice.

While team JNPR continued to question Ruby and Jaune about Earth, the rest of team RWBY exchanged glances. All of them realizing the significance of Ruby's demonstration.

"Hey Sis," questioned the blonde. "How have you been sleeping recently?"

Ruby frowned in confusion as she turned to face them, her aura still active much to Yang's chagrin. "Fine, I guess," she shrugged.

Yang's eyes narrowed on her little sister, "you know you can talk to us if you're having nightmares. We won't think anything less of you for it."

"Yang I'm fine really," replied Ruby, confused.

"Listen Ruby I want you to promise me that you won't use this ability anymore," said Yang.

Ruby looked at her with a shocked expression, "why this could really help us in missions. In fact this is the only reason I was able to bust us out of that damn base."

"The combat and tracking potential for this ability is phenomenal," agreed Pyrrha.

Yang just glanced at her teammates looking for support, they couldn't tell them, after all there's no telling what Ruby would do once they found out. Aura was the most trusted tool in a hunter's arsenal and the very idea that it was able to kill the host still sent chills up her spin. If Earth aura could do it then wasn't it possible for their own to do it as well?

Shaking the troubling thoughts from her head she turned her focus back to the present, "Ruby we can't tell you but this is for you own safety, trust us. Please for my sake don't use it," she begged.

Ruby looked at her in the eyes before sighing and her features returned to normal, "alright Yang I promise."

Yang smiled and squeezed Ruby in a bear hug, "thanks Ruby, now come on let's have a shower and get changed I don't like smelling of rotten fruit."

* * *

><p>Red grunted as she strapped on her combat gear, making sure to double check Crescent Rose before walking to the door. "I'm going to head out for a bit," she called to her teammates.<p>

"And you need to go fully armed?" replied Blake with raised eyebrows.

Red nodded, "it's been awhile since I used Crescent Rose so I wanted to get some extra training in," she informed them.

Weiss nodded in understanding but Yang and Blake narrowed their eyes, "if that's true then you won't mind if I go with you. I could use the extra practice," said the blonde.

Red frowned, "Yang you asked me to trust you and I did, now I'm asking you to do the same."

Yang flinched, "alright Ruby we're sorry, just don't stay up too long," she sighed.

Red nodded as she closed the door behind her and walked down the halls. To any observer it would look like a normal student heading out for an afternoon training session, however this changed when instead of heading to the training room Red walked outside. Once outside she made her way to Emerald Forest using her semblance to avoiding anyone seeing her. Arriving at the cliff she used the launch plates and landed with a flurry of gunshots and midair maneuvers.

Looking around making sure the area was secured she relaxed, "Sorry Yang but I'm going to break my promise," she muttered to herself.

Closing her eyes she again felt for the two currants flowing through her body, briefly marveling at how they now blended together. Feeling for the red current she took a deep breath before she shut it down, allowing the black currant to flow completely throughout her body. Instantly she felt almost lighter, as if taking off a heavy weight you never knew was there but at the same time she felt more vulnerable, like taking off your helmet before riding a bike.

Opening her eyes she flared her aura and saw it was now a deep glossy black, walking over to a nearby river she did a double take at her reflection. Her eyes and teeth were still cat like but the teeth were larger almost like fangs and her eyes seemed to have a slight red glow to them. Her hair had changed colour as well becoming the same glossy black as her aura. Reaching out to her reflection she gasped as her hand came into view, her fingers and nails had changed and enlarged to form some sort of pseudo claws.

Jumping up in shock Red smacked her head against an overhead branch, crying out in pain she placed her hand on her head, blinking as she saw it covered with blood. 'What's going on my aura should have shielded me from that, let alone heal the wound,' she thought puzzled. Groaning from the pain she found the red currant before letting it flow freely again. As soon as she did she felt heavier as the pain faded away, frowning she flared her aura again and saw it the familiar blood red colour. Checking her reflection and hands Red saw that most of it was back to normal with only the eyes and teeth showing the weird traits.

Her curiosity getting the better of her she shut down black currant entirely before flaring her aura for a third time. As she expected her aura outline was the familiar bright shade of red that she recognized from Ruby's memories. Instantly pain flooded through her head and she fell her knees gripping her head in pain as slowly everything became dark.

* * *

><p>"<em>Alright class today we're moving on from theory to practical work. Starting off I'm going to be teaching you about dueling," informed Prof. Goodwitch.<em>

_There was excited rumbling as the class heard this, "did you hear that Yang finally I get to have some fun with my sweetheart," purred Ruby._

"_Yeah for a course called Combat Class you'd think we'd get to have more fights not write essays on the different styles of combat on Remnant," agreed an equally excited Yang._

"_Quite you two I'm trying to hear," scolded Weiss._

_The two siblings glanced at each other before looking back to the professor who was in the process of explaining how duels work. Ruby sighed it was nothing new to anyone here why did she even bother to explain it, if you went to a combat school then you were taught about dueling. _

"…_he stage is isolated from the rest of the students by numerous safety equipment so you can fight without the need to hold back. Now the first pair to face off will be Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc, please step onto the stage," ordered the professor._

_Ruby watched as her blonde friend trudged up to the stage followed by the bully whom simply looked bored as he took his mace from its holster. She sighed and looked away, already knowing how the match would end for the blonde._

"_Well I guess we finally get to see if Vomit Boy has any moves," commented Yang._

_Ruby nodded and turned to face her sister when the sound of shattering as well as screaming was heard before she felt something slam into the back of her head. Collapsing to the ground she saw a red liquid pooling around her as Yang rushed over to her before Ruby's vision began to blur. 'Is that Yang? What's she yelling about? I can't feel anything am I injured? It should hurt right? I… feel really tired, maybe I'll just take a nap,' she thought as her eyes closed._

_When she opened them she found she wasn't in Beacon anymore but instead a very familiar forest. Checking herself for wounds Ruby gave a small gasp of surprise, her entire body was covered in a bright red outline. 'But I'm not flaring my aura, this must be a dream,' she realized. Walking through the forest she headed for the clearing however shortly after setting off Ruby noticed bits of the environment changing. There were trees that didn't seem to belong to the snow covered landscape as well as animals she never remembered learning about, including a brown bipedal creature that just hopped everywhere._

"_Maybe Yang's right no more cookies before bed," she muttered._

_Arriving at the clearing she frowned, the grave was missing and there was a city below that she didn't recognize. Her eyes widened as she saw a girl lying unconscious on the ground, "hey are you alright?" called Ruby as she rushed over._

_Approaching the girl she took a moment to examine her for injuries, she was a blonde haired girl just like her sister and she was outlined in a glossy black colour. Ruby sighed in relief, she didn't seem injured just unconscious._

"_Hey are you alright? Come on wake up we need to get out of here," said Ruby as she reached out to shake her, however the minute she touched the girl there was a flash of red and black before everything disappeared._

Red snapped her eyes open as the memory faded from view, 'was that what I think it was?' Looking up at the sky her jaw dropped, the moon was already out in full. 'Damn it Yang's going to be mad,' she thought as she made her way back to Beacon. However her aura instantly began ringing alarm bells in her head and Red spun around, hand on Crescent Rose, to see a pack of Beowolves emerge from hiding.

"Perfect thank you for volunteering to be my test dummies, now let's see what this Earth aura can do," she said, grinning as she was surrounded in a black outline.

However instead of charging like normal the minute she flared her Earth aura all the Beowolves stumbled to a halt. The Alpha sniffed the air and looked at her before giving a fearful whine and fleeing into the tree line, the rest of the pack quickly following suite. The now alone Red just stood there, an expression of shock on her face, 'did a Grimm just run?'

* * *

><p><strong>Omake- Ten Little Hunters Part 1<strong>

Yang smiled, "come on guys let's have some fun."

A loud cheer rose up in response and they all began to dance as the music blasted through the main building. On any normal day this would have led to a violent tongue lashing by Prof. Goodwitch however as a reward for the teams hard work Ozpin had blocked off the whole building and given them free reign stating, 'it will be a night to remember.' Of course the fun wasn't limited to just team RWBY and JNPR, Blake had also invited Sun whom in turn had invited his friend Neptune to the party.

As the night went on the group friends began to have fun in their own ways. Nora started scoffing down pancake after pancake while eyeing Ren and Blake reading in the corner with a suspicious glare. Weiss was relaxing in her chair while shooting jealous glances at Neptune's attempts to flirt with Yang. Sun was just messing around at the food area. Yang was dancing the night away with Neptune but occasionally sent angry glares to Jaune. The blonde boy was currently engaged in conversation with Pyrrha and Ruby, apparently oblivious to their less than subtle attempts to get him to dance with them.

"So what's the Grimm you think is the worst to fight?" he asked them.

"Hmm…that's a tough question. I guess it would be a Death Stalker, they're heavily armoured and have a lethal sting, one mistake and you're dead. What about you Ruby?" asked Pyrrha.

The reaper frowned, "definitely a Nevermore. Those things are hard to ground and near impossible to fight in the air. What's yours Jaune?"

He flushed in embarrassment, "well for me it's Beowolves, they kind of scare me. I mean just because they aren't the strongest people underestimate them. With most Grimm they're mindless and easy to trap but with Beowolves you need to watch out for tricks and tactics, as well as the large numbers they travel in."

The two red heads gave him a surprised look, "I never thought of that before," commented Pyrrha, to which Ruby murmured in agreement.

"Yeah but enough of these depressing thoughts it's a party so let's have some fun," cheered Jaune as he dragged Pyrrha to the dance floor.

The Spartan glanced at Ruby just in time to see a darkened expression on her face before it disappeared, replaced by the cheerful smile they all knew. Shrugging it off she began to dance with her partner, both unaware of the multiple glares that were sent to the dancing duo. Exhausted they eventually returned to sit with Ruby whom gave Jaune a smile as she handed him a Beowolf shaped cookie.

"Here you go Jaune you must be hungry after that. Besides what better way to fight your fear," she offered, shyly.

He smiled as he ate it, "thanks Ruby you're the best friend I could ever have."

Ruby smiled but it quickly dropped as Jaune's face turned red and he began coughing before he fell to the ground.

"Jaune!" cried the two red heads as they rushed over to him.

Their cries instantly drew the attention of everyone in the room and they all crowded around as Pyrrha checked his pulse.

"He's dead."

_Ten little hunters all gather to dine; One choked on his fear and then there were nine…_

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>So did you guys enjoy it? Also for anyone who hasn't seen Ten Little Roosters I'd really recommend it, it's going to be a good series to fill the void left by RvB and RWBY. Until next time cya guys and as always thanks for the support.<strong>


	23. A Problem in General

**Ok the poll is closed and the results are 13 yes, 6 no and 1 for scrapping the idea, looks like 10 Little Hunters is being made into a proper story. I'll post a message here once the first chapter is out. Anyway enjoy the chapter.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did Sun and Neptune wouldn't be so useless.**

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><p><em>It was dark and it was quiet, but it was not silent as a soft sobbing could be heard over the sound of crackling fire, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. There were no lights on in the room and only the glow of the flames stopped it from being pitch black. The harsh glow from the flames revealed knocked over chairs and desks, destroyed doors and windows and three corpses with a blonde crying over them. The white and black one's bodies looked like they'd been attacked by some kind of animal. Both bodies had obviously been torn to shreds by sharp claws. As well as this there were numerous bite marks on them and the white one had clearly been killed by a bite to the jugular. In contrast the red one's body looked far more intact, there were no bite or claw marks to be found. In fact one could almost mistake her for sleeping if not for the large pool of blood flowing from her chest. The only living thing left in the room, the blonde, was cradling the red one in her arms. The heat from the flames became intense as the fire began to rapidly spread throughout the room. If the blonde noticed the fire approaching her she didn't care, choosing instead to simply hold the red one tighter as if protecting her from the flames.<em>

_Glancing at the white and black one, tears started rolling down her cheeks, "Why?! Why did it have to be this way? I'm so sorry…we tried, God knows we did, but we weren't good enough," sobbed the blonde as cracking was heard from the ceiling. _

_The cracking grew louder as the ceiling began to bend and break, pieces beginning to fall to the floor. Still the blonde didn't move and just looked up at the roof with a strange look of acceptance on her face, "don't worry I'll be joining you guys soon."_

_The ceiling gave one last groan before it collapsed and a soft whisper was heard before the room became silent, "please forgive us Ruby."_

Red gasped as she opened her eyes and woke up panting, covered with sweat. Throwing the sheets off her bed she glanced at her teammates and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them sleeping peacefully in their beds. Jumping down from Fort Ruby she headed to the bathroom before splashing her face with water, attempting to banish the memories of what she just saw as well as keep down her dinner. Frowning Red looked up at the mirror deep in thought, 'that felt too real to be a nightmare, in fact it almost felt like a memory flash but that's impossible.' As her stomach finally settled she got changed into warm clothes and made her way to her private sanctuary, hoping to find some sort of peace to calm her panicking mind. Shutting the door behind her Red didn't see Yang open her eyes and stare at the door with a worried look on her face.

* * *

><p>Yang looked at her hand as the WBY od RWBY plus Jaune sat down for their first round of Remnant: The Game while the rest of JNPR sat at the table across from them reading or in Nora's case sleeping, 'these noobs don't stand a chance,' thought the brawler, happily. The blonde's smile grew as she destroyed Jaune's air force followed by Weiss attacking her own naval fleet. After years of playing this game with Ruby throughout their childhood the two sisters had become near unbeatable at it. Thinking about her sister Yang's smile dropped as she remembered last night. 'She looked really upset maybe we should get her to play? It might cheer her up,' wondered the brawler. Turning to look at Blake, her frowned deepened. The Faunus was doing her best to conceal it, especially when Ruby was around, but Yang knew something was bothering her. She had become even more reserved and anti-social than usual, rarely saying more than a couple of words a day.<p>

"Sup losers I'd like you to meet my friend Neptune. Neptune meet Yang, Blake and our resident Ice Queen over there," introduced Sun as he and his blue haired friend walked over to them.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" whined Weiss.

Yang smiled as she watched Neptune begin flirting with the heiress which only grew in length as she saw Weiss begin to lightly blush. 'Well this is going to be some great teasing material,' she thought with a wide grin.

Looking around the table a confused expression grew on Sun's face, "hey where's Red? She seemed like the kind of person to love board games."

"Ruby was called to the Headmaster's office again remember," informed Yang.

"Speaking of which do you guys have any idea when she'll be let out? I wanted to ask her about some of the things I saw on Earth," asked Jaune.

"Earth? Where's that?" replied Sun.

Instantly all of team RWBY glared at Jaune while his own team just shook their heads, "we'll tell you but you have to keep it a secret from everyone," informed Yang with a glare.

Both Sun and Neptune swallowed under her gaze before nodding. Seeing this they all explained what little they knew about Earth, watching as they both gave them looks of disbelief. "Ok guys funny joke Red put you up to this didn't she?" said Sun in disbelief.

"I wish it was Sun, why do you think everyone's taken such a big interest in her," replied Yang, giving the loud sigh.

Sun and Neptune were silent as they began to digest this new information, "Why'd they call it Earth? I mean who names their planet after dirt?" asked the monkey Faunus.

Everyone blinked as they turned to face Sun, Neptune even face palmed while lightly shaking his head, "really Sun? Out of everything they told us that's what you don't get?" muttered his annoyed teammate.

Pyrrha took this as an opportunity to walk over to the table, "Jaune I know you're curious about Earth, we all are but if we keep asking her questions about it, it might hurt her feelings," lectured the red head.

"I know Pyrrha but this is something important, I wouldn't ask otherwise," he replied, catching everyone by surprise.

"What is it Vomit Boy? It must be pretty big for you to act like that," asked Yang, placing her cards on the table as she leaned forward.

* * *

><p>Red didn't blink or look away from Ozpin as he made his move, attempting to determine whether or not it was a trick. The headmaster just smiled as he reached for his cup of coffee and immediately she ignored her aura, choosing not to take the vulnerable piece and instead reached for the King.<p>

"You're using the King?" asked Ozpin with raised eyebrows.

'Trying to distract me with conversation Ozpin? Well two can play at that game,' thought Red grinning. Moving her piece forward she shrugged, "if the King doesn't lead how can he expect his men to follow?"

The headmaster blinked before giving a light chuckle, much to Red's confusion. "Someone else once said something very similar when I asked them. I see it runs in the family," he explained, seeing her expression.

Red nodded as the game continued, "Headmaster why did you want to see me?" she asked, curiously.

"There is someone who I want you to meet," he replied.

She frowned, "and does this someone have something to do with that fleet of airships parked outside your window?"

Ozpin gave an amused smile, "it seems you and Glynda are capable of agreeing on some things after all. Yes this person does, he is an old friend and I expect you to be on your best behavior Miss Rose."

"Yes Headmaster," sighed Red. "But why do you want him to meet me?"

"I think you fail to realize just how unique you are Miss Rose, after all it's not often we can examine an Earth aura of such a…docile individual. Why your very existence itself has provided evidence for numerous theories that were pure hypothetical beforehand," he explained.

Shrugging she took his Bishop before responding, "speaking of aura I was wondering, Yang told me that you had information on Earth aura. Would you let me have a look at it?"

Instantly Ozpin froze as he reached out for his next piece, it passed quickly though and Red was left wondering if she'd imagined it. "Why do you asked Miss Rose?" he questioned, his voice devoid of emotion.

"No reason just curious," she lied, alarm bells starting to ring in her head.

Ozpin just frowned, "so it wouldn't have anything to do with you sneaking into Emerald Forest yesterday?"

Red swallowed nervously, "how do you know about that?"

"Your scroll sent me an emergency message the minute you left school grounds, don't forget the police still want you arrested for helping the White Fang," he replied.

Seeing her guilty expression he sighed, "I'm not going to ask what you were doing there all I'm going to do is ask that you be careful Ruby. As a team leader you must put forth the needs of you team ahead of your own."

Red clenched her fist as memories of last night flashed into her mind, "it's for their sake I'm doing this Ozpin. I need to get stronger to protect them and that means using every weapon at my disposal."

Ozpin frowned, "very well Miss Rose but still I urge you to use caution, often in our attempts to halt the future we can end up bringing it closer," he warned.

Red nodded and they both descended into an uncomfortable silence as each focused on the game in front of them, trying to regain the light hearted atmosphere they had shared. Finally after another twenty minutes Red grinned, "checkmate," she announced, triumphantly.

"What's this? The great Ozpin beat at his own game?" called an amused voice behind them.

Flipping around Red saw a black haired man in a white overcoat with what seemed to be a strip of metal above his right eyebrow. Ozpin got up from his chair and walked over to the man before shaking his hand, "James it's good to see you."

The man smiled, "and you as well Ozpin, now who is this?" he asked, turning to Red.

"She is the one I was telling you about earlier, Ruby Rose meet James Ironwood, Headmaster of Haven academy and General of Atlas' military," introduced Ozpin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ruby, tell me how is your uncle Qrow nowadays?" greeted Ironwood as he held out his hand.

Red eyed his hand wearily before remembering what Ozpin said, "same to you General, Qrow has told me all about you," she lied, shaking the offered hand.

The general blinked and an amused smile grew on his face, "really? Isn't that strange I was under the impression that you had lost most of your memories."

He turned to Ozpin who had his own smile on his face, "you're right she is a good liar," agreed Ironwood.

"It's alright Ruby, the General here knows all about you," assured Ozpin, noting her alarmed expression.

"I see forgive me General but my last experience with a military left a lot to be desired," she apologized.

He waved of her apology, "yes I heard about that rest assured you have nothing to fear from me Miss Rose."

Seeing Red nod the general then turned to the headmaster, "Ozpin we need to talk," he said, seriously.

Frowning Ozpin turned to her, "very well you're dismissed then Miss Rose, the General and I have some business to catch up on."

"It was good to meet you Ruby, perhaps we could talk later. After all it isn't every day you meet someone from another world," said Ironwood.

"Umm…sure I guess," replied Red as she left the office.

Shutting the door behind her Red grinned as she activated her aura, briefly glowing a dark red as she pushed herself up against the door. Using her enhanced senses she fist pumped the air as the two headmasters' conversation became clear as a bell.

"…o that's her is it? I'll admit she's not how Qrow described her," came the general's voice.

"From what I've seen the joining of the two auras wasn't the smoothest transition. I doubt anyone could go through that and come out unchanged," replied Ozpin.

"What did you tell Qrow?" asked Ironwood.

"Nothing not even her own father knows," informed the headmaster.

Red's eyes widened, 'they haven't even told Ruby's family yet, there's no way I can fool them! God how will Qrow react, there's no way I could beat him, he taught Ruby everything she knows,' realized the reaper. 'Ok relax Red you just need to keep your distance from them until you can come up with a plan, but what if we're sent home on holidays? I guess I could get Yang to cover for me,' she thought with a sigh.

"Ozpin this is his niece we're talking about, he won't be happy when he finds out you've kept this from him," argued Ironwood.

She heard a sigh before Ozpin spoke up, "I'm aware of that but you and I both know that if we tell him he'll immediately come rushing over and right now we need him focused on his mission."

This time the general gave a sigh, "alright Ozpin I'll kept my mouth shut but when he finds out give me some warning would you? I want to be well out of the kingdom when he does," he joked, weakly.

"Still are you sure that keeping her here is such a good idea, we both know what Earth aura is capable of," continued Ironwood.

Red frowned as she pushed herself further up against the door, 'so they do have information on my aura I knew it! But what is he talking about? Why would it be a bad idea?'

"She's different James, over the past months she hasn't displayed any of the tendencies we've come to associate with them. In fact this might even be a blessing in disguise. An Earth aura and a Remnant one working in harmony, we might be looking at one of the strongest hunters to have ever lived," argued Ozpin.

"So you're willing to risk the safety of all the students at Beacon on the chance that she may be different from the others. What if you're wrong Ozpin? Can we really afford to take that risk?" replied Ironwood.

Red never heard Ozpin's reply as the dreadfully familiar sound of heels clicking against floor tiles rapidly began approaching. Deactivating her aura Red quickly pushed herself from the door and began walking back to her dorm, passing Glynda on the way back. Glancing behind her she saw the professor walk into Ozpin's office, deciding not to push her luck any further she continued down the halls in search of her team.

* * *

><p>Placing her cards on the table Yang leaned forward, suddenly curious of what Jaune would say next, "What is it Vomit Boy? It must be pretty big for you to act like that," she asked.<p>

Everyone turned to face the blonde as he took a deep breath, "Well apparently after Ruby broke us out of the base she took us to her old home on Earth to lay low. When I woke up I was in a strange room with no one to be found."

"Wait wait wait back up a sec. You saw where she used to live? What was it like?" interrupted Yang.

Jaune frowned as he thought back to the house, "well it was a suburban area but very spaced out compared to Vale. Her room was also filled with books, what looked like a computer and posters of some type of cartoons she called anime."

Ren immediately looked up at this, "Jaune are you sure she called them anime?" he asked.

"Err…yeah positive, why?" replied the blonde as they turned to the eastern boy.

Seeing everyone looking at him Ren sighed, "Anime is short for animation. It's a style of animation for cartoons that originated in the Eastern kingdom. I just find it strange that two separate worlds would have so many similarities, it seems almost too much of a coincidence to me."

They all frowned at this, but none of them were prepared for what Jaune said next, "if you think that's a coincidence just wait until you hear this. So I woke up and began searching the room when I found a something odd. There was a plastic case that contained some kind of disc and the title of it was called RWBY. Now does anyone want to guess who the four girls on the cover looked like?"

There was a deep silence as everyone's mouth dropped open before Weiss stood up glaring at the blonde, "you waited until now to tell us!" she exclaimed.

The knight shrunk under her gaze, "I wanted to ask Ruby about it yesterday but then she showed us the aura trick and I kind of forgot," he admitted, ashamed.

"It's alright Jaune you had a lot on your mind at the time," reassured Pyrrha, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder.

Neptune frowned, "Jaune wasn't it? Are you sure you saw what you think you saw? After all didn't you say you were drugged at the base? Maybe it was just some kind of side effect from that?" he said, offering his opinion.

"No Jaune might be right, remember back when we 'reintroduced' ourselves to Ruby. She acted like she already knew us, in fact at the time Blake and I thought she was simply faking her amnesia," argued Yang.

"That's assuming that this disc is about us and not just a coincidence," shot back the heiress.

Blake shook her head speaking up for the first time, "any other circumstance I would agree with you Weiss but too many things add up. We just assumed she knew about the Shipyard incident because of her aura however she might have already known it was going happen."

"Now the question is do we confront her about it?" asked Pyrrha.

"Confront who about what?" came a female voice behind them.

Spinning around Yang found herself staring at Ruby, who cocked her head to the side with a confused expression on her face. Noticing everyone looking at her she frowned, "umm…why is everyone staring at me?"

* * *

><p><strong>Really sorry about the short length of this chapter, I had to rewrite it three times and I'm still not happy with how it turned out. I'm kind of glad you guys wanted 10 Little hunters to be turned into proper story, I need a break from writing this fic for a while.<strong>


	24. Risk it for a Biscuit

**Hey guys sorry for the wait but I've finally got back into the mood for writing again. As usually thanks to Tommy2486 andanimatwin for the help. For some reason this chapter was a real struggle to write though so it might not be as good as the usual ones and for that I apologise.**

**Guest (the only one that wasn't a flamer)- I'm impressed you're correct with your theory on how Remnant and Earth aura interact with each other and that will become a plot point later on. I have also thought of a good way of explaining it so you don't need to worry about that.**

**I don't own RWBY which is probably for the best.**

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><p>Red was walking down the halls of Beacon in search for her friends when she heard the sound of Weiss screaming. 'Wonder what could make the Ice Queen react like that? Whatever it is I need to learn how to do it,' she thought with smirk. Entering the library she saw her friends all gathered around a table seemingly engrossed in conversation instead of playing their board game.<p>

"…confront her about it?" said Pyrrha as Red approached the group.

"Confront who about what?" asked Red.

Everyone jumped at the sound of her voice before spinning around to face her with mixed expressions of guilt, shock and suspicion. Red flinched slightly under the gaze of so many eyes and resisted the urge to put her hood up, expecting the one way staring contest to end quickly. But after a couple of minutes of no one saying anything and continuing to stare she felt a worryingly familiar feeling wash over her.

Red cocked her head in confusion, "umm...why is everyone staring at me?"

Yang was the first one to snap out of their apparent daze as she gestured for Red to take a seat next to her. Deciding she didn't really have a choice Red reluctantly took the offered seat, trying to ignore the feeling of multiple eyes staring at her. Taking a look at the board game in front of her Red smiled as recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Sweet a Remnant version of Risk I'm so playing next round," she exclaimed, a predatory glint now in her eyes.

"Oh ho so confident are you? Well in that case how about a little bet? If I win you have to do something for me," challenged Yang.

"And if I win?" asked Red.

"If you win Weiss has to buy you as many cookies as you want for the rest of the year," replied Yang with a wide grin.

"Hey!" protested Weiss before a glare from Blake shut her up.

"Deal!" cried Red, much to Weiss' dismay.

"You can't have a game with only two players mind if I join? After all with two pros like yourselves a newbie like me shouldn't make much difference," asked Neptune while Sun hid the grin spreading across his face.

An oblivious Red just grinned, "by all means please do, the more the merrier."

The three of them cleared the current game off the board and as they were setting up a new game Red's smile widened as thoughts of cookies filled her head. 'These chumps don't stand a chance against my skill and aura. Sorry Weiss but I have a feeling the Schnee company is about to go bankrupt,' she thought gleefully. The game started off natural enough with all three players beginning to conquer their chosen continent Red even managed to take the extra one with little effort. Deciding to take out the newbie first she invaded Neptune's kingdom only to have her entire army destroyed by one of his trap cards, which Yang took advantage of immediately.

"You're no novice you tricked me," she glared at her blue haired opponent.

"Whatever do you mean?" replied Neptune with a triumphant smile as he and Yang began assaulting her holdings.

Watching as her army was destroyed by the two players Red frowned, "alright then fine! I'll take both you cheaters on and still come out on top," she growled.

It was a false claim and everyone knew it and before long Red rested her head on the floor with tears streaming down her face, "goodbye my lifetime supply of cookies," she sobbed.

Yang grinned, "you lost the bet sis time to pay up."

"Have you no heart! Tricking your innocent little sister like this," cried Red.

"All's fair in love and war," replied Yang.

"Grr…fine what do you want?" groaned Red.

"Simple," said Yang as she leaned on the table, looking at her with a serious expression. "You just have to answer some questions."

"Ok shoot," said Red confidently.

Everyone was silent and watched as Yang began her interrogation, "first did you know about us before you arrived on Remnant?"

Red felt blood drain from her face, 'do they know? But there's no way I never mentioned it, did I? Alright I'll bluff my way through this, after all I've had practice.' Taking a deep breath she plastered a confused expression on her face, "what kind of silly question is that? Of course not."

"Oh really," commented Yang the disbelief clear in hear voice. "So how did you know Blake was a Faunus before she even told us?"

Red felt a drop of sweat run down her neck, "I saw her bow twitch when there wasn't any wind blowing plus her eyes didn't look the same as the rest of you," she lied.

"Then how did you know about the Shipyard incident?" continued Yang.

"My aura told me. I just sort of knew what was happening," replied Red with a sheepish grin.

Yang sighed at the lack of progress before Sun spoke up, "hey Red what's my name?"

"Sun what kind of question is that?" responded Red with a confused expression.

"Just answer the question Red," he replied, seriously.

"Sun Wukong," answered the reaper.

Sun nodded as a thoughtful expression crossed his face, "and how did you know my name?"

Red frowned, "I told you I overheard the others talking about you."

Sun gave a triumphant grin as he walked over to her, "so you're saying that you overheard your teammates talking about me?"

"Yes…" she said, confused about what the Faunus was up to.

"Well isn't that strange because I never told any of your teammates my last name," replied the Faunus.

There was silence as everyone turned to face Red, whom just blinked owlishly as she tried and failed to come up with an excuse. "Well would you look at the time I just remembered I had an appointment with Ozpin cya guys," she said, attempting to flee the table only to be pushed back down by a grinning Sun.

"Give it up Red there's no point in hiding it anymore," commented Sun.

Red just sighed, "alright what do you want to know?"

Yang leaned forward eagerly, "everything."

* * *

><p>"So this 'DVD' was a record of our time during the first semester of Beacon?" questioned Weiss in disbelief.<p>

"Pretty much although it mostly highlighted key events; the initiation, Forever Falls, the Shipyards. Granted most of those events changed due to some meddling on my part but the basis was the same so I had an idea how everything would play out…sort of," nodded Ruby.

'That explains how she knew about my past,' thought Blake as Ruby went on to explain how things were different in this DVD. When the Faunus heard what Penny was capable of she made a mental note to be wary of the girl from now on, after all the ability to destroy a Bullhead in one hit is nothing to be scoffed at. Still she was slightly upset to hear that Ruby didn't know what the White Fang's plans were, only that they were being used as pawns by Roman and his trio of conspirators.

"Ruby do you have any idea who Roman's accomplices are?" she asked, hopefully.

The reaper frowned before shaking her head, "I've tried frequently to remember but I can't, it's like the memories are gone. All I know is that one of them fought Ruby when she stopped Roman's robbery and had glowing eyes."

The Faunus glanced at Yang, 'partial memory loss another symptom to add to the checklist,' she thought sadly. Still the idea that someone was using her former comrades as tools made her blood boil and while the information Ruby had provided wasn't much it was still a lead, besides there couldn't be that many humans helping the White Fang.

"Umm Ruby did the DVD cover my…circumstances?" asked Jaune.

Ruby's expression softened, "yes and I stand by what I said before Jaune, you're not a coward, a bit of a dork sure, but you care for your friends when it counts and that makes you more than worthy of being here."

The rest of the group keep looking between the two friends in complete confusion while a grateful expression crossed Jaune's face, "thanks Ruby I really appreciate it."

Deciding she'd spent enough time socializing Blake got up from the table and headed to her dorm, leaving her friends very concerned as they watched her go. Sun looked ready to go up and follow her when he was stopped by Ruby who just shook her head in silence. Getting the message Sun sat down with a sigh as Blake left the library.

"Hey guys what's wrong with Blake?" he asked, concerned.

"She's been acting odd for a while now especially when I'm not around," agreed Ruby.

Yang and Weiss shared a glance, "she just doesn't want you to worry Ruby that's all," replied Yang.

"But why would she care about only me unless…oh God don't tell me Ladybug is canon!" exclaimed Ruby as a horrified expression crossed her face.

The reaper then turned to the monkey Faunus next to her, "Sun we are hooking you up with Blake as soon as possible this is non-negotiable understand?" she stated, seriously.

Everyone stared at Ruby in silence at her declaration, meanwhile Sun was struggling to keep a blush off his face as blood rushed to his head. Suddenly Yang fell to the ground rolling in laughter at the sight of her little sister causing the exhibitionist Sun to blush. This was quickly followed by Neptune who yanked out his scroll before snapping a picture, much to his teammate's horror whom preceded to chase the blue haired boy out of the library.

"Come on we better go check on Blake," said Weiss as she and the rest of team RWBY got up from the table and headed to their dorms.

* * *

><p>As they entered their dorm the rest of team RWBY saw Blake curled up on her bed, upon seeing them enter however she got up and walked to the door. Red made sure to keep a weary distance as the Faunus passed her.<p>

"Stop!" ordered Weiss, causing the Faunus to halt at the door. "Ever since we got back you've been quite, antisocial and moody."

"Ahh…have you met Blake?" interrupted Yang as Red snickered softly in the background.

The heiress just ignored the two sisters as she continued, "which I get is kind of your 'thing' but you've been doing it more than usual."

Both the sisters were quite as Blake turned around to face Weiss, "which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!"

"I know you think you're doing what's best for…us," said Weiss in a quite voice as she quickly glanced at Red, who hid behind Yang as Blake followed her gaze. "But it's causing more harm than good."

"So Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?" cried Weiss as she flipped into the air and landed on a chair, leaving a stunned Yang applauding softly while Red held up a 10 sign.

Weiss quickly ended her balancing act as she put the chair back and stood by Red as Blake gave them all a guilty expression, "I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm," admitted the Faunus.

Red walked up, "you're still think about Torchwick and his friends?"

"Torchwick, the White Fang, Earth, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!" vented the Faunus.

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it," assured Yang.

"Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" argued Blake.

Weiss turned to her teammates only to see both Red and Yang with thoughtful expressions on their faces, "Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!"

"Don't forget travelling to other worlds," pointed out Red smugly.

Weiss just rolled her eyes, "But let me once again be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!"

"Oh come on Weiss we have a score to settle with Roman after all the trouble he's caused us," pouted Red.

"We're not ready!" repeated the heiress firmly.

"And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" yelled Blake.

"Weiss she's right Roman will only get worse if we leave him to his own devices. Besides there's an old saying from Earth: 'the best defense is a good offense,'" agreed Red.

"I'm in, anything to get back at him," said Yang as they all turned to the heiress.

Weiss sighed, "alright fine if we're going to do this I suppose we should do it together."

"And so the hunt begins," grinned Red with a manic look in her eyes.

"Wait! I left my board game back in the library," exclaimed Yang.

Everyone just face palmed as they stared at the blonde, "we're doomed," groaned Weiss.

"I'll go get it be back in a minute or two," announced Red as she activated her semblance.

As she sped out of the room her aura instantly warned her of an incoming threat, having no time to stop Red infused her legs with aura before leaping over the danger. Landing in a roll she placed a hand on Crescent Rose before spinning around to confront this new threat, only to find herself looking at the surprised face of a green haired girl. Red frowned as she steadied her heart rate and got out of her combat stance, 'I could have sworn my aura detected danger nearby…maybe it was wrong.'

The sound of the girl clearing her throat snapped Red back to the present, "right sorry about that I didn't hurt you did I?" she apologized.

The green haired girl shook her head as her grey haired partner walked up, "you jumped over me before we collided. I must say you have some impressive reflexes," she congratulated Red.

"Uh thanks I'm Red," she replied, sticking out her hand.

For a minute there seemed to be a flash of recognition in the green girl's eyes but it was gone in an instant, "I'm Emerald and this idiot beside me is Mercury," introduced Emerald.

"Says the one who called a cat a rat," scoffed Mercury as Emerald's expression darkened.

"So are you guys from one of the new schools I don't remember ever seeing you around," asked Red curiously.

"Visiting from Haven actually," came a third voice.

Emerald and Mercury parted to reveal a third women with long black hair that was covering left half of her face walking up to Red. Upon seeing her Red felt pain lance through her head causing her to groan and rub her temples, willing the headache to go away. Looking at the third girl again Red had a strange sense of déjà vu as their eyes met before her aura again blared another warning across her mind, causing Red to frown in confusion.

"You alright?" asked Emerald confused.

Red shook her head, "a just a headache I'm used to them by now. So you're from Haven huh? That's cool a couple of my friends are from there, but you know that exchange students have their own dorms right?" she replied.

Mercury shrugged, "I guess we just got lost."

"Ah," nodded Red in understanding. "Yeah I can relate I lost track of how many times I got lost when I first got here. Your building is just east of here."

The green and grey haired teens nodded as they walked pass her while the third thanked her as she walked off. Watching them leave Red's smile dropped to a worried frown, there was something about those three that just didn't sit right with her or her aura. Deciding that she didn't have time to investigate transfer students Red made a note to keep an eye on them, maybe ask Sun and Neptune about them, before rushing off to the library.

* * *

><p>As the trio arrived at their room Emerald frowned, "so that was Roman's former protégé?" she asked.<p>

Mercury grinned, "from what I've heard she certainly lives up to his reputation."

Cinder looked up from her bed with an intrigued expression, "do tell," she purred.

Taking a seat on his new bed Mercury's grin widened, "she's developed a reputation among the students for scamming so many people that even Roman would be impressed."

"Secondly her fighting ability is meant to be incredible as well, the staff don't let her and her sister fight anymore as every time they did they destroyed the combat room. Lastly apparently both Ozpin and Ironwood have taken a keen interest in her," he informed them.

Cinder frowned, "I want you both to watch her carefully we can't let her interfere with the plan."

Emerald cocked her head in confusion, "but why we already know what she's capable of thanks to Roman."

"We know what her Remnant aura is capable of but we know next to nothing on the abilities her Earth aura gives her, we need a specialist here someone to act as an adviser. Besides I don't like the way she looked at me, it looked like she was trying to remember me from somewhere," replied Cinder.

Emerald and Mercury blinked, "really? I didn't notice," said the green hair girl.

Mercury nodded, "she just seemed like an idiotically naïve girl to me," he agreed.

Cinder gave a dark chuckle, "that was all an act and a very good one I might add. The fact that you two failed to pick up on it only makes her more dangerous."

Their expression hardening the two subordinates nodded, "understood ma'am we'll keep an eye on her," replied Emerald.

"Shouldn't be too hard we share most of the classes with her anyway. I can't wait to see how she fights," commented an eager Mercury.

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><p><strong>I want to point out that I have nothing against Ladybug shippings but it was just an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. So Cinder and Red have finally met and both are suspicious of the other. Wonder how this will turn out. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.<strong>


	25. Does This Unit Have A Soul?

**Hey guys the updates might slow down for a bit due to real life problems but it shouldn't take too long before the next one. I really liked writing this chapter for no apparent reason so hopefully you guys like it, anyway enjoy.**

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><p>Red sighed as she watched the clock, struggling to stay awake while her hands began subconsciously scribbling on the papers in front of her. Feeling a pair of eyes staring at her Red frowned as she turned around, just in time to see Emerald look away, 'they've been staring at me all day.' They were good though, for anyone without Earth aura's detection ability she doubted they would noticed the pair's spying. 'There is definitely something going on with those three,' thought Red, scowling as she turned her attention back to the clock.<p>

Port didn't seem to realize that half his class was struggling to stay awake as he continued with his story, "you see students there I was face to face with my arch nemesis, the dreaded Edgar, when…"

Unfortunately as Prof. Port's lecture continued to drone on Red felt her concentration once again slipping, yawning she glanced over to see Jaune once again trying to hit on Weiss. 'I'll give him points for being stubborn if nothing else,' she thought with a sigh. Honestly it constantly amazed her just how oblivious the blonde was when it came to the opposite sex. Turning back to the professor Red's eyes began to glaze over and she started scribbling on the pieces of paper again, her mind elsewhere.

"…uby? Remnant to Ruby, hello anyone home? Come on it's four, class is over," said Yang, snapping Red out of her trance as the blonde waved a hand in front of her face.

"Uh…I'm awake!" cried Red as she jumped to her feet, only to hiss in pain as she banged her knee on the desk.

"Good to see you still so energetic this late in the afternoon Miss Rose," bellowed Prof. Port as he approached them.

"Um…of course sir your lessons are just so invigorating I can't help myself," lied Red as Yang snickered softly in the background.

Whatever Port was going to stay died in his throat as he looked down at the pieces of paper in front of her, his expression darkening considerably as he turned to Yang. "Miss Xiao Long I need to have a word to your teammate, alone," he ordered.

Both the sisters looked at each other in surprise at this before Red nodded to Yang, whom gave her a concerned glance as she walked out of the room. Once the door shut Port picked up the papers and headed to his desk, motioning for Red to follow. Taking a seat at his desk the professor sighed before placing the papers on the table, giving Red her first good look at her sketches. One had some sort of patterns drawn on it, almost like runes that for some reason seemed familiar to her. The next caused her to frown, it was a Grimm mask drawn in perfect detail but not like any she'd seen before. The mask seemed too small to for a normal Grimm and it was covered in the same rune-like patterns that seemed to join together in the center of the mask. Red frowned, 'how did I draw that? I've never even seen it before and I'm no artist, there's no way I could come up with something like that on the go.'

Port cleared his throat, fingering the picture with a frown, "Miss Rose why did you draw this and where did you see it?" he questioned, firmly.

Red just shook her head in confusion, "I don't know sir, I just sort of zoned out during class and started scribbling on the paper."

The professor's frown deepened, "so you don't know where you last saw it?"

"No sir, I don't even remember seeing it in the first place. Why? What is it? I mean it looks like a Grimm mask maybe I saw it when I was fighting them or something?" asked Red curiously.

Port shook his head, "no you definitely didn't seen it while fighting Grimm."

"How can you be so sure?" replied Red with a frown.

"Because you'd be dead," answered Port, causing Red to flinch as he looked her in the eye. "Very few of these creatures have ever been discovered and everyone has been extremely dangerous."

"The last one to be found was by the Headmaster and his team back during their later days here at Beacon. They were sent to investigate the disappearance of citizens from Mountain Glen before it was overrun. When they returned to Beacon they were all exhausted and the Headmaster was badly injured and even then they weren't able to kill it, only drive it off," informed Port.

Red felt a chill run down her spine as Port continued, "fortunately they appear to be small in numbers and seem to avoid larger settlements. However if you've seen one then that can only mean they're getting bolder, which is both a good and a bad thing."

"Hold on professor how can that be a good thing? You just said that they're incredibly dangerous," questioned Red as she blinked in confusion.

"Yes they are dangerous but it seems that other Grimm fear them as well, so it's a choice of one large threat or many smaller ones. If the creature has indeed marked its territory here then I wouldn't be surprised if we see a mass exodus of Grimm from the area. Even Goliaths are hesitant to cross into these established borders," explained the professor.

Red froze at this, her mind going back to the incident at Emerald Forest. "Um…professor I might know where it's hiding," she informed, fearfully.

Port immediately looked up and a frown grew on his face as she told him of her late night training trip to Emerald Forest. Once she finished he sighed, "Ruby are you absolutely sure the Beowolves fled? They didn't just give up on hunting you down?"

"I was standing out in the open and they had a clear view of me, there is no way they didn't spot me. But the minute I flared my aura the Alpha whined before fleeing faster than I'd ever seen one move before," she told him with a frown.

"You were flaring your Earth aura yes?" he asked, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Yes but I fail to see how that's relevant," she said, confused.

Port just shrugged, "right now we need all the information we can get on the situation. Ruby I want you to stop going out of school grounds until we get this sorted out, that means no more late night training sessions in Emerald Forest understand?"

Seeing her nod Port dismissed Red before looking down at the picture on his desk. Hearing the door shut the professor packed up his equipment and headed to the Ozpin's office, already imagining the lack of sleep he'll get from leading the search parties. In truth he hoped he found evidence of one of the creatures, the alternative was not one he wanted to consider.

* * *

><p>Red walked into her dorm with a frown, still think of her encounter with Port. 'If I can't go out of school grounds where am I supposed to train with my Earth aura?' she thought, frustrated. So consumed by this thought was Red that she didn't even notice Weiss standing in front of her until it was too late. With a cry of surprise the two partners crashed into each other, landing in a tangled mess on the floor.<p>

"Ouch Ruby watch where you're going you dolt! And where were you we've been waiting for ages," growled the heiress as she picked herself up.

"Sorry about that Prof. Port wanted to talk to me," she replied.

"What about? I think that was the first time I've ever seen him that serious," asked Yang.

"You'll find out tomorrow, needless to say don't go into Emerald Forest from now on," she informed her teammates, getting a confused look but a nod of understanding in response.

Climbing onto her bed Red sighed in relief as she got into her casual clothes, eager to get rid of the constricting uniform and into something comfortable.

"Alright guys today's the day the investigation begins!" cheered Red as she leapt off the bed.

"Glad to see you're taking it so seriously," groaned Weiss.

"Hey we've got a plan that's…moderately serious," commented Yang.

"Yeah it's better then what we usually do," agreed Red.

"Speaking of which does everyone remember-" Red paused as her aura detected two people outside their window.

'Those two again this time I'll catch them in the act,' she thought, grabbing Crescent Rose as she walked over to the window. Pulling back the curtains she was surprised to see not Emerald or Mercury but Sun hanging upside down from a nearby branch. Team RWBY jumped back in surprise as the monkey Faunus just gave them a sly grin.

"Sun how did you get up there?" exclaimed Yang in shock.

"It's easy I do it all the time," he replied.

"You do WHAT!?" shouted Weiss.

"I climb trees all the time. So what are you four up to?" he asked, curiously.

"Sorry Sun we don't want to-" Red paused. 'Wait if I get him to go with Blake there's an opportunity for them to get closer and more importantly get her focus off me. No more Ladybug! Red you are a genius!' she realized as a smirk crossed her face.

"You know what forget that, welcome aboard Sun," grinned Red, much to the dismay of her teammates.

"Ruby I'm not sure this is such a good idea," warned Weiss.

"You're right it's not good, it's great," replied the reaper, happily.

"Awesome, hey Neptune we're going to explore Vale," said Sun, looking to his side.

Blinking the members of team RWBY stuck their heads out the window to see Neptune pressed up against the wall. Red gave a low whistle of appreciation, even she would've deem that too dangerous and she did parkour.

"Sup," greeted the blue haired boy with a smile.

"How did you even get up here?" Red asked, intrigued.

"I have my ways," said Neptune before his smile dropped as he looked down. "Seriously though can I come in we're really high up right now."

"I got it," sighed Red as she helped Neptune into their room.

Once they were inside Red explained the plan to the two members of SSSN, getting glares from both Weiss and Blake as she assigned them to help Yang and the cat Faunus. Grabbing Weiss by the collar Red grinned as she dragged the heiress to the docks, ignoring her struggling teammate's protests.

* * *

><p>"So this is the Cross Continental Transmit tower huh? Man it really is big," whistled Ruby.<p>

"You think this is big you should see the one in Atlas. That's right I forgot you don't know anything about it do you?" asked Weiss.

Seeing Ruby shake her head Weiss elaborated, "the technology was originally developed by Atlas to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with each other after the Great War."

"You were originally from Atlas weren't you Weiss?" asked her teammate.

"That's right the Schnee Company is based in Atlas," nodded the heiress.

"Why'd you go to Beacon instead of Haven?" responded Ruby, curiously.

Weiss frowned remembering her home with no small amount of anger, "let's just say I have my reasons and leave it at that."

Ruby nodded before a smile appeared across her face, "Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!"

Weiss watched impatiently as Ruby fumbled with her scroll and only sighed when the reaper dropped it on the ground.

"Oh. You dropped this," came a familiar voice.

Weiss looked at the source and nearly let out a groan at the sight of the ginger before her, only the fact that she was a good fighter stayed her tongue.

"Penny? Hey it's been ages how have you been?" greeted Ruby walking up to her.

"Ruby!? Ah…I have to go bye," replied Penny, shoving the scroll in Ruby's hands before running away.

"What was that about?" asked Weiss.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out cya later Weiss," called Ruby before chasing after the ginger.

"Hey wait…humph that insufferable little red," she mumbled, walking into the tower.

After going through the numerous security check points Weiss sighed as she sat in front of the terminal, plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh! Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well," asked the operator.

'Oh God no,' thought the heiress. "No, thank you! I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list," she requested, pleasantly as she inserted her scroll into the keyboard.

"I see. If you don't mind... what may I ask is this for?" replied the operator.

"School project," she lied.

"Um... There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am," informed the operator, nervously.

"Well, then, I'll be sure to treat them with care," replied Weiss.

"Right...umm unfortunately Miss Schnee you don't have the authorization for these documents," said the operator.

"What!? But I'm a member of the family nothing should be beyond my clearance," exclaimed Weiss.

The operator frowned as she typed into her computer, "the records show that Mr. Schnee revoked your clearance level after 'frequent abuse of authority and potential damage to the company.' I'm sorry ma'am I can patch you through to your father if you still need the documents."

Weiss shook her head, "no thank you that will be all," she replied, hanging up.

"Well that didn't go according to plan. Hopefully the others are having more luck," she muttered, heading back to the door.

* * *

><p>"Penny wait! Stop running and tell me what's going on!" called Red as she chased after the ginger.<p>

"Please stop following me Ruby," cried Penny.

"Penny I just want to talk, please as a friend," replied Red.

Giving a sigh the ginger stopped running and turned to grab Red, "it isn't safe to talk here," she said before dragging Red to a nearby café.

"Alright Penny why did you run from me?" asked Red as they began to walk down the streets.

"I was…ordered to stay away from you. He said you were extremely dangerous and I need to be careful around you," answered Penny.

Red stopped in shock, "what that's ridiculous! Who has feed you these lies!" she demanded.

"Well it was Mr. Ironwood who told me," she replied, honestly.

"The General?!" exclaimed Red in disbelief.

Penny nodded, "he told me about the White Fang and even called you a ticking time bomb."

Red's expression darkened, 'nothing to fear from me my ass! Note to self never trust any military ever again.' Her expression grew ever darker as they rounded the corner to see a hologram of the General advertising new models of androids.

"Ruby? Maybe we should go somewhere else," said Penny concerned.

Seeing her friend becoming increasingly nervous and agitated Red nodded and they both headed back down the street in the opposite direction.

"What's wrong Penny why'd you freak out like that?" she asked with no small amount of concern.

"I didn't want the soldiers to see me if they did I'd have to be dragged home," replied the ginger.

"What? Why would they do that? Penny if you're in trouble then I can help," said Red frantically.

"No no it's nothing like that it's just…you're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?!" begged Penny.

"I promise," replied Red solemnly.

Penny sighed before leading her into a nearby alley and grabbing a piece of broken glass. Red watched in confusion that rapidly turned to horror as Penny slashed the glass across both her hands.

"Penny stop!" she cried, grabbing the glass from her.

The ginger just smiled sadly, "don't worry Ruby I'm not hurt."

Red frowned as she looked down at the piece of glass in her hand, noting the lack of blood on it. 'What the hell?' she thought with a confused expression. Seeing the confused look on her face Penny gently took the glass from her before dropping it on the ground.

"Ruby... I'm not a real girl," said Penny holding out her hands to reveal the metal beneath them.

"Oh," replied Red, shocked. "Penny do you mean…you're an android?"

The ginger nodded her head before looking down at the ground, "I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura! I'm not real," she concluded, sadly.

Red grabbed Penny's hands with her own, "Of course you are. You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"

Penny blinked in surprise, "You know you're... taking this extraordinarily well."

Red was silent as she digested this trying to work out what to say, eventually she just sighed and sat down. "Maybe that's because you're more real than I am," commented Red quietly.

"Did the General tell you how I was 'born'?" she asked, gesturing for Penny to take a seat beside her.

Penny just shook her head as she sat down next to Red, curiosity evident in her eyes. "I have memories of dying twice Penny. You see the first one was a sparing accident and Ruby took a lethal blow to the head. The next was Laura rushing to get home ahead of a storm but she fell from a rooftop, she died on impact."

Penny said nothing as her eyes widened and Red continued, "both of them felt differently, Laura was terrified right up until the end while Ruby just accepted it as inevitable. You see at some point I was asked, who am I? Ruby or Laura? And you know what? I'm neither, I am the fragments, the leftovers, of two very different people Penny. Simply throw pieces of Laura and Ruby together and viola you get me, Red, a puppet masquerading as a dead girl."

Red grew quite as she looked up at the sky, "everything I do, every decision I make, is influenced by them. If I like something it's because one of them did before me, if I'm good at something it's only because my predecessors took the time to master it."

Standing up she offered the ginger a hand, "but you're not like that Penny, you can choose for yourself what you like, what you do. Every skill you have you earned not had them simply handed to you, in that sense you are more human than I could ever hope to be. So don't you dare say you're not real no matter what anyone says!" finished Red fiercely.

"But I'm a machine just like those ones we saw earlier, how can you be sure?" asked the ginger.

"Penny you are nothing like them, you have a heart and a soul I can feel it. If you want proof than simply look at yourself. You said it yourself, you're the first synthetic person to generate an aura. In order to have an aura one must first have a soul for it to protect," replied Red, a smile on her face.

"Oh Ruby. You're the best friend anyone could have!" exclaimed Penny happily as the ginger crushed Red in a bear hug.

"Penny can't breathe! Tap out tap out!" choked Red.

As Penny let go they both heard Red's scroll go off, frowning Red opened it up to see an incoming call from Blake. Pressing the answer button the two of them were assaulted with noise before they heard Blake's voice through the scroll, "everyone if you can hear me we need backup!"

Red and Penny glanced at each other in surprise before Red spoke up, "hold on I'm on my way."

"I'm coming to Ruby," said the ginger.

"Penny are you sure?" asked Red.

Penny just grinned, "don't worry Ruby, I'm combat ready."

* * *

><p><strong>Welp looks like Roman's in for a surprise doesn't it? I decided to change things up from canon so it's not just a rehash of the series hope you guys liked it. Looking forward to writing Penny's fight scene, should be fun.<strong>


	26. Green Is Not A Creative Colour

**I think this is probably one of the longest fight scene I've ever written. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I probably would have gotten this out sooner.**

* * *

><p>"I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" asked Sun, holding out the mask.<p>

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters," answered Blake as she untied the bow from her head.

"Grimm masks... That's kind of dark," commented the blonde.

"So was the guy who started it," she replied, gloomily as she placed the mask on her head.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you," grumbled Sun as he donned his own mask.

Together the two of them walked into the large warehouse with the rest of the new recruits, becoming one with the sea of white masked faces. As they listened to the speaker introduce their 'benefactor' a frown appeared on their faces as a familiar voice carried across the room.

"Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause!" came Roman's mocking voice.

The duo watched as Roman incited the crowd with unease, they hadn't expected him to show his face at a meeting this early. To make it worse Neo took this moment to step out of cover behind the crook, 'is she one of his accomplices Ruby mentioned?' wondered Blake. She did try to kill Tukson and helped Roman kidnap Ruby so it was entirely likely, which just left two more unaccounted for. Blake's eyes widened as she saw Roman remove a tarp, revealing a giant mech standing motionless at the ready.

"Whoa, that's a big robot..." gasped Sun, fearfully.

"How did he get that?" replied Blake in shock.

Sun just shrugged in response as Roman began gloating about his new toy, "Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

The room erupted into thunderous applause as Blake turned to Sun, "we should get out of here."

"Leaving so soon?" came a chillingly familiar voice behind them.

Hands on their weapons the two Faunus spun around to see Adam Taurus staring at them, "never thought I'd seen you here again Blake."

Instantly there was silence throughout the warehouse as everyone turned to stare at them. The two hunters brought out their weapons before turning to face the crowd back to back. "Does this happen to you all the time?" questioned Sun.

"Everywhere I go," joked Blake with a worried smile.

Her smile dropped as they both heard the mech powering up behind them, "move!" shouted Sun as they dived to the side.

The spot where they were standing was reduced to a creator as the Paladin punched the floor. Seeing an opportunity the two Faunus jumped on the mech and used it as a ramp to jump out the window. Landing on the nearby rooftops they both began sprinting into the city as the wall behind them burst open to reveal the Paladin charging after them.

Adam sighed as he turned from the destroyed wall to face Roman's bodyguard. "If those two were here then she can't be far behind. Neo tell them to get the Bullhead ready, we're going hunting."

* * *

><p>"So you wouldn't happen to have... oh, I don't know... some form of backup?!" cried Sun as they kept running.<p>

"On it," replied Blake as she took out her scroll. "Everyone if you can hear me we need backup!"

Getting various affirmatives from her teammates the two Faunus kept sprinting, leading the mech onto the highway. As they leapt from car to car, aware that the charging Paladin was beginning to close the distance between them, the duo saw blue flashes behind them. Taking a quick glance behind them showed Yang and Neptune rapidly approaching on her motorbike. The Paladin began knocking cars into the path of the rapidly approaching duo, forcing Yang and Neptune to stop firing as they focused on dodging the incoming projectiles. Blake sighed in relief as she watched Yang successfully swerve around the cars and Neptune returned fire. Unfortunately the Paladin seemed to just shrug this off as it continued chasing after the two Faunus. Seeing this Neptune frowned as he shifted his gun into its trident mode when they heard Ruby's voice over their scrolls.

"Everyone I've got a plan I need you all towards lead Roman to Weiss, she is going to knock him down to the lower levels. Once there Roman's going to be in for a big surprise," she ordered them.

"Got it," they all replied as they began to herd Roman towards the heiress.

"Everyone! I'm in position!" came Weiss' voice from the scrolls.

They all saw the heiress twirl her rapier and point it at the oncoming Paladin with a smile before stabbing Myrtenaster into the ground. In the space of a few seconds the ground around her turned to ice which caused Roman to skid and stumble as he fell off the edge onto the empty road below. As the criminal got up he saw Ruby standing in the middle of the road with a smug smile on her face as she slung Crescent Rose across her shoulders.

"Well Roman long time no see."

* * *

><p>"Well Roman long time no see," greeted Red.<p>

"Indeed. You know Red now that we're alone my deal is still up for offer, we could certainly use someone like you. Especially now that you're close to Ozpin," offered the crook.

"You really think I'll make that mistake again? I'm not becoming your hired gun Roman," growled Red.

"I'll admit I didn't handle that situation the best I could have but still if you rethink my offer, you need only contact me," came the criminal's voice from the downed Paladin.

"Tempting but I'll pass. Now why don't you save us both some time and surrender quietly," grinned Red.

There was harsh grating laughter echoing from the mech as it got up, "and why should I do that?" questioned Roman.

"Because either you come out of there or I rip that hunk of junk apart and get you myself," she replied, shrugging.

Roman only response was more laughter, "really Red I knew you were mad but not this mad. Your little friends won't be able to get here before I turn you into a smear on the ground."

With that the Paladin threw a punch at Red, only to hit the road as Red disappeared in a flash of rose petals. Roman began scanning the area with the mech's laser systems in an attempt to discover Red's location only to growl as they found nothing. Meanwhile Red was sitting happily on top of the Paladin, grinning as she watched Roman struggle to find her. Penny had told her everything she knew about the Atlesian Paladins, which was a lot considering the General made her train against them, including the blind spot in their scanners.

Taking her scythe she jabbed it into one of the mech's joints before activating its electricity modification. Crescent Rose was surrounded with a blue glow as electricity ran down its length into the Paladin, instantly Roman began to see numerous error messages appear as many systems were overloaded with electricity. Growling the criminal forced the failing mech into a roll causing Red to remove her scythe and jump off least she be crushed under its weight. As soon as the scythe was removed Roman saw most of the error messages disappear as the onboard computer began restoring the functions. Looking down at Red he saw her struggling to get to her feet as she tried to rush to her scythe, only to see Roman step on it with his foot.

"End of the line Red, any last words" he taunted.

Red just grinned, "yeah, NUTS AND DOLTS!" she cried before hitting the deck.

Roman watched confused until he saw a large green laser fly over the ducking Red and slam into his Paladin, causing the mech to go flying a few feet into the air before sending him crashing to the ground. Appearing on the one undamaged screen he saw a ginger girl emerge from hiding, a group of swords hovering around her like guardians. Roman took a quick diagnostic of his Paladin and his eyes widened as he saw the extent of the damage, 'damn I can't be hit by that again.'

"Nice shot Penny," congratulated Red as the two high fived each other.

"Why did you make that the code name? It seems unnecessary long and conspicuous," asked Penny.

"It's an Earth thing," replied Red with a wave of her hand.

"Earth?" said the ginger.

"I'll tell you after this," promised the reaper as the both turned back to face Roman.

Shortly after this they all heard the sound of a motor bike getting closer and as they looked up they were greeted to the sight of a laughing Yang and screaming Neptune driving off the highway above them and landing with a skid on the road next to Red. The others quickly followed with Blake and Sun using their Faunus reflexes and Weiss using her Glyphs.

"Show off," muttered the heiress at her blonde teammate.

"Well Roman you're outnumbered and surrounded. Want to surrender now?" asked a smug Red.

"I'm not done yet Red," hissed the crook as the mech got back on its feet.

"Alright then be that way. Penny fire the laser!" she ordered.

The rest of her friends watched in shock as a ball of green energy began forming in front of the ginger before shooting out towards the mech. It looked like it was all over for Roman at that point however a black blur appeared in front of him and just as the laser hit, they all saw a flash of red before the green light blinded them. As their eyesight returned they all were shocked to see Roman's Paladin undamaged and a black and red bull Faunus standing in front of him.

"This is where the fun begins," laughed a glowing Adam.

Suddenly the glow surrounding the Faunus intensified and Blake and Red's eyes widened as the realized what was about to happen. "Everyone scatter!" cried Blake as Adam gripped his sword.

Hearing the urgency in her voice the group obeyed instantly and quickly dived off to the sides as Adam unsheathed Wilt, there was the sound of cutting metal and they all saw Yang's bike split in two before disintegrating.

"No Bumblebee! You'll pay for that!" growled Yang.

Ignoring everyone's warnings the blonde charged Adam only to find herself sent flying from an umbrella to the stomach as Neo revealed herself, standing over the blonde with a smug grin. "Ah ah aaaah," teased the illusionist.

Yang growled as she threw a punch the girl's way and saw it get deflected by the umbrella before Red charged Neo, forcing her to fall back. Slowly Yang got up and watched as Adam, Roman and Neo grouped together while she and the rest of her friends stood across from them, each side waiting for the other to make a move.

"Penny can you take out Roman?" asked Red.

"Yes but not with that Faunus in the way," she replied.

Red nodded, "Blake you and Sun keep Adam busy, the rest of you help Penny. I'll deal with Neo," she growled, her eyes briefly outlined in red before returning to normal.

"So that's Neo huh? No deal Ruby I'll take care of pinkie here you help Penny," replied Yang as she walked up next to Red.

Red wanted to argue but the look on Yang's face showed she wouldn't waver, "fine but Neptune's going to help you," she sighed.

Neptune nodded and brought out his trident as he and Yang began to circle the illusionist, while Sun and Blake did the same with Adam. Red, Penny and Weiss just frowned as they saw the mech in front of them, "why do we always get the tough jobs," groaned Red as Roman charged.

* * *

><p>Blake and Sun watched the White Fang member cautiously while the Faunus in question kept a hand on his sheathed sword, a lack of care evidence in his stance. Sun split his staff into his gunchucks before running at Adam with Blake doing the same from the opposite direction. Their opponent gripped Blush and fired Wilt out of its sheath hitting Sun in the head before spinning around and slamming the sheath into Blake's stomach. Not giving her time to recover Adam punched Blake in the face before sweep kicking her legs from under her and kicking her in the head, leaving Blake stunned and disorientated as he turned his attention to Sun. As the blonde was still recovering from his blow to the head Adam sprinted towards where Wilt lay on the ground and got into his defensive stance as Sun finally snapped out of his daze.<p>

Charging the bull Faunus Sun found his attacks being deflected by the terrorist's blade and sheath combo. Changing tactics the blonde began firing the gun attachments of his weapons and Adam began dodging the shots or blocking the weapons directly. Seeing his current strategy wasn't working Sun backed up before joining his palms together as two orange glowing ethereal figures appeared, one armed with a staff and the other unarmed. A frown appeared on Adam's face and he quickly brought his weapons up as he watched the two figures charge him, however instead of blocking their strikes the minute he touched them both the figures exploded in a flash of light. Sun grinned as he watched his opponent go flying a few feet from the force of the explosion, meanwhile Blake had finally recovered from her daze and took advantage of the current situation.

As Adam picked himself up from the ground he found himself being attacked head on by his enraged former partner. Blake came at him with an overhead slash from Gambol Shroud to which the bull Faunus grunted as he brought Blush up to block the incoming strike. Unfortunately while he was distracted by his former partner Sun took the opportunity to slam his staff into the terrorist, the shockwave from the staff knocking Adam to the ground. Suddenly all three of them heard the sound of sirens approaching and Blake leapt on top of her downed opponent.

"Don't move," ordered Blake as she straddled him and placed Gambol Shroud on his throat.

* * *

><p>"I'm curious. Why did you want to fight me? Red has the best chance here to beat me surely you know that," asked Neo as the two hunters surrounded her.<p>

"Do you know why the older sibling is born first? It's to protect the little brothers and sisters that come after them, including from themselves. You two clearly have some history and that is hindering her judgment," replied Yang, causing Neo to raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Besides," continued the blonde, cracking her knuckles. "Anyone who can make Ruby show that angry is someone whom I need to…have a chat with."

"Well aren't you interesting I think I'm going to enjoy myself after all," grinned the illusionist as Neptune charged her.

The two hunters frowned as they saw Neptune's trident pass right through the girl before the image shattered into pieces. Leaping back they stood back to back, alert for any sign of their hidden opponent. The two were startled to see Neo appear above them as she smashed her umbrella into Neptune's face, knocking him to the ground and turned to block Yang's incoming first. Smirking she weathered the brawler's assault without so much as a scratch, using the blonde's momentum against her as Neo grabbed her wrist and slammed the umbrella handle into Yang's head.

Neptune got up from the ground and watched the current fight between the two girls as his face furrowed in confusion, 'why did she reveal herself when she attacked us? She could have easily killed us both without either of us being aware of it.' A smile grew on his face as an idea came to mind, 'she can't attack and use her semblance at once,' he realized. Switching his weapon to its gun mode Neptune carefully aimed at the fighting pair before firing. Neo was caught completely by surprise as the both turned to see a glob of blue light rush towards the illusionist. Neo attempted to move out of the way but Yang hooked her arms around her, trapping her opponent who could only struggle as the light hit and the two girls were blown off their feet.

Neptune quickly rushed over to Yang and offered her a hand, "Yang are you ok? Maybe I overdid it," he admitted, sheepishly.

"Gee you think!" coughed the brawler, accepting his hand up.

Neptune's response was cut short as they both heard sirens growing louder in the distance, "wait where's Neo?" asked Yang looking around.

The illusionist was nowhere in sight.

* * *

><p>Red and Weiss dived out of the way of the oncoming mech while Penny rooted herself to the round before jabbing her swords into the Paladin's armour plating. Grinning the ginger pulled on the strings and sent Roman careening past her and into a support pillar. Red and Weiss watched wide eyed as Penny then preceded to drag the mech along the ground and repeatedly slam it into the ground, walls and anything else nearby, leaving creators wherever it landed. Inside the Paladin Roman was struggling to maintain consciousness as his head was repeatedly bashed against the monitors.<p>

Snarling at the sight of the ginger girl in front of him Roman activated the Paladin's rocket systems, forcing Penny to disconnect the swords from the mech as she used her swords to slice the missiles in midflight. Free of the ginger's control the mech stand back on its feet before firing both its guns as well as rockets at Penny, in an attempt to finally end the pesky ginger. Her sword guardians formed a circle around her, blocking most of the rounds. Another two swords sank into the wall behind her as Penny was sent flying backwards, narrowly dodging the rocket barrage.

Seeing Roman preoccupied with taking down the ginger, Red and Weiss began their own assault. It started with Weiss freezing the Paladin's back mounted rocket launchers, rendering the weapon useless. Next Red stabbed her electrified scythe into the mech's energy weapons, frying the delicate circuitry inside before semblancing away as Roman brought the Paladin's fist down where she once stood. As Roman turned his attention back to the duo he saw Red plant her scythe in the ground while a white glyph appeared around the barrel.

"White Rose!" called Red as she fired and Roman found his mech beginning to freeze where the rounds impacted.

"Now Penny!" ordered the reaper and Roman saw a green glow rapidly getting brighter.

Realizing what was about to happen Roman tried to dodge out of the way but found that his mech's newly frozen limbs weren't fast enough and the green laser stuck the Paladin head on. Unable to take any more punishment the mech literally fell apart and Roman was sent flying.

"Ruby we really need to rethink these codenames," commented the heiress.

"Weiss for the last time Ice Flower will never stick. Let it go," replied Red as the two turned to face Roman, whom was dusting himself off as he got up.

"Well what will you do now Roman? They're getting closer," grinned Red as they all heard the grateful sound of police approaching.

The crook said nothing as the trio surrounded him and only grinned a satisfied smile, looking at something over their shoulders. They heard Blake cry out in pain behind them and spun to see her fall to the floor as Adam head butted her, Sun tried to help only to find a sword held at his throat by the reappeared Neo.

"All of you put your weapons on the ground or we will kill them both," ordered Roman.

All of them placed their weapons on the ground or in Penny's case stowed them in her back. All of them that is except for Red, whom just clutched Crescent Rose tighter as she stared unblinkingly at Neo. They all looked at Red and everyone could swear they saw her glowing a deep black before she blinked and gave Neo another hateful glare as she dropped Crescent Rose to the ground. Seeing them all unarmed Adam and Neo threw their captives to the ground and together with Roman they ran into a nearby street, shortly after everyone saw a Bullhead fly off in the opposite direction.

"Ruby I have to go I don't want my father or the General to realize I've been out this long," said Penny.

Red nodded," sure thing Penny and thanks for the help."

Giving a wave the ginger ran into the streets as the first police cars began showing up, "so anyone got an excuse for Ozpin after this?" asked Red, hopefully.

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><p><strong>Well that was fun to write, although I wish I could have written more with Penny. Ah well there will be chances later on I suppose. With Neo's semblance it was the only explanation I could come out with after rewatching the series a couple of times, for instance on the train fighting Yang. She could have simply turned invisible and stabbed Yang, there was no need to fight like they did unless she couldn't use her illusions. Anyway if you have a problem with it then I'm sorry but I've made my decision and I'm going to stick with it.<strong>


	27. Learning is so much fun

**Here you guys go the next chapter hope you like it. It was kind of difficult to write but I'm happy how it turned out.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did we would have more Sun, Neptune and Mercury moments their great.**

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><p>"Come on Pyrrha finish him already!" yelled Nora.<p>

"Show him whose boss," cheered Yang.

Team JNPR and most of team RWBY sat together as they watched their red headed friend sparring with Cardin. Meanwhile Red was sitting with team CRDL and cheering on their leader, getting some angry looks from Nora in the process.

"Keep going Cardin you almost had her!" cried Red.

Red leaned back into her chair, watching the fight and thinking over the past couple of days. After their little showdown with Roman and his friends, they were taken to the headmaster's office for a debriefing. Red had to struggle to keep herself from glaring angrily at the general when they walked in and simply ignored him entirely as she reported to Ozpin. Thankfully Glynda wasn't present so none of them had to suffer through detention again, not that it bothered Red. She'd gone through so many sessions that by this point they had just become numb to her, in fact she honestly didn't know whether to be sad or happy that the professor's sessions no longer scared her anymore.

Snapping her attention back to the fight she leaned forward eagerly, no one had expected Cardin to last this long against a world class fighter. Even the professor seemed slightly shocked at how long her student had lasted. When they had called Cardin up to fight Pyrrha everyone had been expecting a quick fight and who could blame them? The world renown tournament fighter Pyrrha Nikos going up against the former local school bully, it should have been an easy win. Yet despite this he was actually holding his own against her, sure everyone could tell that he had no chance of winning but he'd managed to turn what should have been a quick and easy fight into a long drawn out stalemate. Red knew he and his team had been doing late night training sessions ever since the incident at Forever Falls but even she was amazed at the progress her friend had made.

"You're doing great Cardin don't give up!" she cheered.

Slamming his mace into the ground Cardin caused a line of fire to go racing towards the Spartan, whom back flipped in the air before using her shield as a springboard and launching herself at him. Seeing this he brought his mace in an upwards swing intending to knock Pyrrha off course, only to find he had 'miscalculated' and the mace narrowly missed her head. The Spartan smashed into Cardin with her spear, sending him flying across the arena. Not letting her opponent get a chance to recover Pyrrha shifted her spear into its rifle form before firing a volley at Cardin as her shield returned to her back.

It was here that nights of training began to show their effect as Cardin quickly recovered and spun his mace in front of him, blocking the rounds. Pyrrha's eyes widened as Cardin charged and instantly her shield was back in one hand with Miló now in sword form in the other. Blocking the swing that came at her head Pyrrha was forced back a couple of steps from the strength of the blow before counter attacking with Miló. Cardin managed to block the blows with the handle of his mace but wasn't prepared for the Spartan to shield bash him in the face.

Red frowned as turned from the fight to look at teams RWBY and JNPR and saw Mercury and Emerald sitting behind them. For once they weren't watching her and instead were giving the fight their full attention, staring at Pyrrha with a calculating expression that sent alarm bells ringing in her head. As the fight went on she saw Mercury nod in understanding before turning to his partner and whisper something in her ear. Emerald glanced at him with a triumphant look and they both turned back to the fight. Red's frowned deepened as she to turned her attention back to the match, Cardin was really pushing Pyrrha in fact she was beginning to use her semblance in far more obvious ways than usual. Normally it was just slight adjustments, a near miss here, a display of 'unbeatable swordsmanship' there, but now she was actually throwing her shield. While it seemed to be using the rebound to return to her anyone with knowledge of polarity would easily notice the trick and from there it was only a matter of putting two and two together.

Cardin was sure taking a hell of a punishment as he received another burst from Miló to the chest and instead of falling back or stumbling he just kept charging. Unfortunately for Cardin he was tiring and Pyrrha knew it too, dodging his sloppy charge she changed Miló to spear form and swept the boy's legs from under him. Shortly after this Red could only flinch in sympathy as she and the rest of team CRDL watched Pyrrha send their friend flying up into the air before grabbing him and slamming him into the ground. As Cardin struggled to his feet the lights began to glow brighter and they saw professor Goodwitch walk into the arena.

"And that's the match," announced the professor.

"That was not fun," groaned Cardin.

Glynda gave him a thoughtful look before turning to Pyrrha, "well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

"Thank you Professor," replied Pyrrha with a bow.

Glynda began tapping on her scroll as she turned to face Cardin, "and you Mr. Winchester have certainly improved since we last saw you spar. Keep this up and you too might make it into the tournament."

Cardin blinked in surprise before nodding in thanks as he rejoined his team and Red, "that was a great fight Cardin," congratulated Red.

"I lost," he replied, bitterly.

"Yeah but you've definitely improved. In fact I would have bet Pyrrha could have wiped the floor with your entire team before you started training," argued Red, causing all of team CRDL's shoulders to slump.

"She's right Cardin you've definitely improved and that was a good fight," interrupted Pyrrha as she walked over and offered a hand.

The former bully just stared at the hand in disbelief before cautiously shaking it, "umm…thanks I appreciate it," he responded, warily.

Pyrrha nodded and walked back to her team as Glynda turned to face the crowd, "alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" announced the professor.

Gazing around the crowd her eyes came to rest on Blake whom was clearly struggling to stay awake, "Ms. Belladonna? You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you..?"

"I'll do it," interrupted a male voice.

Everyone turned to see Mercury with his hand up and a smug grin on his face. "Mercury, is it? Well, let's find you an opponent," replied Glynda, tapping her scroll.

Mercury's smile widened, "actually, _I wanna fight_... her," he stated.

There was silence as everyone looked between the two of them, already people were beginning to construct barricades. For her part Red just grinned manically as she leapt down from the stands and into the arena below before unsheathing her scythe.

"Alright then Mercury, **let's play!**" she growled as Mercury jumped down from above.

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><p>Glynda sighed as she saw the two students get into their combat stances, realizing that nothing she could say would change their minds. Heading to the safe area she double checked all the safety equipment before resetting the arena.<p>

"Miss Rose be aware I would much prefer it if this room remains intact afterwards," she ordered.

Mercury watched as Red nodded, her eyes never leaving his as they both appraised their opponents, trying to determine the threat posed to them. He saw her expression become serious and gave Red a fake yawn of boredom before gesturing her to come at him. Growling Red switched her scythe to its gun mode before unleashing a hellish barrage of bullets at the kickboxer. Grinning Mercury dodged the incoming fire before rushing Red and sending a kick to her face. Ducking under his kick she slammed the butt of her rifle into him before quickly running backwards in an attempt to regain the distance between the two of them.

'She's not an idiot at least. She knows that she has the advantage at range so she's keeping her distance,' he thought, approvingly. Still Cinder wanted him to test her capabilities and in order to do that he needed to stop her from using ranged combat. Sighing Mercury continued dodging the incoming rounds, noting the scary amount of marksmanship being displayed, until he heard the satisfying sound of her gun clicking empty. Not giving her a chance to reload the kickboxer ran at Red and released a spinning jump kick into her head, stunning her briefly. This brief moment was all that he need as he unleashed a flurry of kicks into the reaper, however before he could do any real damage Mercury found his kick passing through a cloud of rose petals as Red disappeared from sight.

Remembering what Roman said Mercury cursed and just barely leapt out of the way as a scythe sliced through the spot he once stood. 'So Roman wasn't lying her Semblance is speed,' he thought as a frown crossed his face. Now that they had confirmed her Semblance he should have pulled out, least she start to learn things about him. _We know next to nothing on the abilities her Earth aura gives her…_ As Cinder's words echoed in his mind Mercury's frown deepened and he lowered his raised hand, 'this is my chance,' he thought. Taking a deep breath he ran at Red again and began to get serious, for the first time since the fight started there was no smug smile on his face.

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><p>'What is that idiot doing?!' thought Emerald, furiously. He was meant to forfeit the match once they discovered her Semblance not actually try and win it. Was it pride? Enjoyment? No he might have been arrogant about his abilities and a bit of a show off but not even Mercury Black would risk disobeying Cinder for something like that. 'So what is he up to?' she wondered before her trail of thought was cut off by the sound of people chatting in front of her.<p>

"Wow he's really good, he actually had Ruby on the defensive," commented the blonde boy in front of her.

"That's because she was holding back Vomit Boy. In fact judging from what we're seeing now they both were," replied the other blonde.

Emerald's eyes narrowed as she eavesdropped on the two teams, "what do you mean Yang?" asked the boy.

"Ruby was using only her most basic techniques, even when she used her Semblance it was only a basic follow up attack. He was doing the same as well, look at how he moves now compared to at the start of the match they are clearly more advanced," explained Yang, oblivious to the extra listener.

"Not only that but she had multiple opportunities to use her ace in the hole but decided not to use it. It's almost if they're testing each other, both trying to force the other to reveal their hand," she finished with a frown.

'Ace in the hole? She has something besides her Semblance? Is it her Earth aura?' she wondered and suddenly it clicked. 'Mercury you're one of the smartest idiots I've ever met.' Grinning she was about to lean back and enjoy the fight when what the blonde said next caught her attention.

"She's been acting a bit paranoid for a while now that I think about it, always checking over her shoulder, she won't even go to class anymore without Crescent Rose with her. I asked her about it and all she said was 'you can't be too careful.' It's beginning to worry me, she's under a lot of stress she really doesn't need," said Yang.

"I'm sure its fine Yang we all have to deal with stress at some point," reassured Pyrrha.

"No Pyrrha right now stress is very bad for Ruby, it can have…bad effects on her aura," replied the Schnee heiress.

Emerald filed this curious information away for later and returned her attention to the fight, making sure to stay close enough to overhear anymore conversations between the two teams. 'This is a very productive lesson,' she grinned as she leaned back in her chair.

* * *

><p>Red grunted as she took another kick to the chest before lashing out with Crescent Rose, sending Mercury flying back a few feet. Panting she switched her weapon to its gun mode and fired into the flying grey haired teen, the rounds impacting him dead center and adding to his flight. Leaping up in the air after him she slammed the blunt end of her scythe into the flying Mercury, causing him to go crashing into the ground. Red wasn't prepared for Mercury to fire his gun greaves and soften his landing, keeping him from getting in the red.<p>

Snarling in frustration she brought the scythe up to block his next kick only for his greaves to fire again, causing her to cough as she was knocked backwards. Taking advantage of her confusion Mercury launched himself forward using his greaves and kneed Red in the gut and following it up with a spinning kick to her side which sent her tumbling to the right. Recovering quickly Red semblanced to the opposite end of the stage hoping to get some breathing room as well as come up with a plan to counter attack. 'I can't use my Earth aura not while Yang and the others are watching,' she thought, angrily.

Her gaze dropped to her scythe with a conflicted expression before sighing, there was no way she was going to reveal one of her traps to her potential enemies which left only one option. There was nothing to gain from this fight any longer she had to **kill him, destroy him, show this whelp what happens when it decides to plays games with her! **forfeit. Blinking she shook the thoughts from her head as her grip on Crescent Rose tightened, a low growl rising from her throat.

Taking a deep breath she tried to calm her rising temper, he might not be an enemy after all so far he's **a danger, a threat, threats must be eliminated!** done nothing but watch her **for now!** Red groaned as a headache racked her brain, not noticing her hand inching ever closer to the scythe's activation switch. Suddenly the sound of a ringing bell caused her to jump before sheathing her scythe while Mercury deactivated his greaves as Glynda approached.

"That's the end of the lesson the match is a draw," announced the professor before turning to the stands. "That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first proper mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."

Mercury and Red walked over to each other and shook hands, "you were holding back," said Mercury.

"As were you," she replied.

"True very true," he grinned as he walked towards the exit. "Oh and one more thing Red, I expect to have a rematch after this."

With that he and Emerald left the arena while Red walked back to her friends, neither of the combatants realizing just how lucky they both had been.

* * *

><p>Leaving the arena behind them team RWBY began the long track back to their dorms when they all heard a familiar voice. Turning around they saw Sun wave before he ran over to them and grabbed Blake by the shoulder.<p>

"Hey, Blake! You uh, doing okay?" he asked, awkwardly.

"I'm fine," she replied, coldly as she put down her book.

"So I hear that there's this dance going on this weekend, and it sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?" he asked.

Blake just looked at him with a confused expression while Red just faced palmed, 'really Sun that's the best you could come up with? Thank God you got me as your wingman.'

"Blake he's wanting to know if you'll go to the dance with him. Personally I think it will be good for you, a chance to let loose every once and awhile," she explained, getting a grateful nod from Sun in response.

Blake just glared at the two of them, "so how long have you two been planning this for?" she asked, unamused.

"Huh?" came their identical confused responses.

Blake's eyes narrowed, "you two have always schemed together and for some reason Ruby has got it in her head that Sun and I need to start dating. So I'll ask again how long have you to been scheming to come up with this?"

Red immediately waved her hands in front of her, "wow hold on Blake we didn't plan anything…this time. If we did do you really think it would be this poorly thought out?"

That seemed to calm her down and she then turned to face Sun, "I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that," she replied and walked off.

Sun just slumped his shoulders in dejection while Red patted him on the back, her eyes never leaving Blake's retreating form. Blake never snapped like that maybe she should go and **teach her a lesson no one treats her pack mates like that!** talk to Yang. If anyone had looked at Red at that moment they would have seen her eyes glow a faint red before turning back to normal as she sped off after her team.

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><p><strong>Mercury and Emerald are really hard for me to write for some reason, even my OoC Neo is easier. So anyway what did you guys think a nice adaptation from canon or would it of been better left as it was? <strong>


	28. Why The Sun Sets Red

**Hey guys thought I'd give you all a Christmas present, hope you like it. Also for the 10 Little Hunters story I've decided to wait until either I finish volume 2 or encounter writers block before starting it (which ever comes first). Anyway Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.**

**I don't own RWBY maybe Santa will give it to me this year...**

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><p>"You what?!" exclaimed Blake, breaking the silence that had filled team RWBY's dorms.<p>

"We want you to go to the dance," repeated Ruby, getting a venomous look from Blake.

"I've already told you Ruby NO! Now leave me out of your childish romance fantasies I'm in no mood for them," growled the Faunus.

Yang and Weiss watched as Ruby's expression of worry rapidly evolved into one of anger, "oh that's rich coming from someone who reads smut. That's right I know all about your preferred reading material Blake Belladonna! Tell me do you have some sort of Ninja fetish or is Sun just not enough of a bad boy for you? I suppose that would explain your relationship with Adam, after all I doubt you two kept it purely professional."

Weiss and Yang just looked between their two teammates with confused expressions, clearly having no clue what they were talking about. Blake just stared at Ruby shocked, her mouth opened and closed a couple of times but no sound came out.

"What's the matter Blake? Cat got your tongue?" sneered Ruby.

"Ruby enough! We are here to help her not make things worse," shouted Yang as she glared at her sister.

Ruby blinked before an ashamed looked crossed her face, "I'm sorry Blake I shouldn't of said that. I don't know what came over me, I…I think I'll go take a walk," she apologized and left the dorm.

The three teammates watched here leave the room before turning to each other as the door clicked shut. "Blake, we're worried about you, Ruby included. We only want to help that's why we all think you should go to the dance. This investigation is starting to mess with your head," informed Yang.

"That's ridiculous," retorted Blake.

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering. Does that sound like someone who is mentally healthy?" listed Weiss, counting them off her fingers.

"You think I care about grades? People's lives are at stake!" cried the Faunus.

"It's not just your grades! Ruby's clearly under a lot of stress just like you are if not more, just look at how she snapped! She has been having nightmares every night even you can't be so distracted not to hear her weeping in her sleep, refuses to go anywhere without her weapon and despite this she's still prioritizing your problems over hers, like a true leader should. But you just refuse to accept any form of help," argued Weiss sternly, drawing surprised looks from both her teammates.

"I'm not as oblivious as you all seem to think I am," huffed the heiress, noticing their stares.

"Look Blake I know you feel responsible for what the White Fang are doing but so does Ruby or did you forget that she also worked with them? Right now we know that they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale so we can't do anything about it at the moment except rest and recover," reasoned Weiss.

"But there's still unanswered questions! Where did that military tech come from and who is the next target going to be?" argued Blake.

"Blake you're not going to find the answers if you can't even keep your eyes open to see them, trust me I know what you're feeling. All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day," lectured Yang as she placed a hand on her teammate's shoulder.

"It will be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it," promised Weiss.

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" encouraged Yang as she bounced on the bed.

"Excuse me? You two are just as bad as Sun and Ruby!" shouted the Faunus as she got up and headed to the door.

"I'll be in the library," she stated before slamming the door behind her.

"Well that went well," sighed Yang sarcastically, running her fingers through her hair.

"So now what do we do? She can't keep going like this," asked Weiss

Before Yang could answer they both heard a knock on the door, "Ruby is that you? We have a lot to talk about," said Yang as she opened the door.

The blonde frowned however as she saw Jaune standing outside the door with a guitar, "not the time Vomit Boy," she growled and slammed the door on his face before he even had a chance to speak.

"And they call me the Ice Queen," muttered Weiss with raised eyebrows.

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><p>Red sighed as she watched from her tower sanctuary as the sunset over the horizon, bathing the sky in beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. For a brief moment she allowed herself to forget everything, the White Fang, Earth, Remnant…herself. A smile spread across her face as she just sat back and enjoyed the moment, savoring the calm feeling it brought her.<p>

"Penny for your thoughts?" came a familiar voice.

Red chuckled as she glanced behind her to see Ozpin climbing out of a service hatch behind her, 'so that's how he got up here. I always wondered about that.' Turning back to the scene before them Red heard Ozpin take a seat beside her.

"Do you know why the sun sets red? Light is made up of many colours and of all those colours red is the one that travels the farthest. Seems appropriate don't you think?" asked Red, the smile still on her face as Ozpin handed her a coffee.

They both took a sip in perfect unison before Ozpin spoke up, "indeed you are certainly living up to your name sake. I must say it is rare to find someone who appreciates the simplistic beauty of a sunset."

For a couple of minutes Red didn't respond and the duo just sat in silence, watching the sunset as they drank their coffees. Eventually Red placed down her empty mug and just began dangling her legs over the edge, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Then those people don't know what they're missing. Take it from someone who's died twice Ozpin sometimes you just need to appreciate the simple things in life, after all you never know when they'll be gone," she replied, solemnly.

"That must have been difficult, do you want to talk about it? I might not be able to do anything other than listen but sometimes that's all we need," asked the headmaster in a soft voice.

"It was," she confirmed, without looking away from the scene. "I was thrown into a strange land that shouldn't have existed in a body that wasn't even mine. I won't lie, every time I looked in a mirror it hurt and only reminded me of what we both had lost."

Red paused to take a breath before continuing, "then the memory flashes began and I was scared. I saw the memories that Ruby held dear and it felt like I was trampling all over them but at the same time I could feel them affecting me, changing me. I was scared that I was becoming someone else and so I focused on going home, latching on to the one desire that I knew was my own."

"Everyone fears change it is nothing to be ashamed of," replied Ozpin, gently.

Red frowned, "it is when you do terrible things because of it. I was consumed Ozpin, I wanted a way home and was willing to do anything and hurt anyone in order to obtain it. Then my one last desire was taken away from me, by my own teammates no less and you made me realize just how much I had changed."

A single tear rolled down her cheek, "it broke me Ozpin. The one thing I used to hold myself together was gone, everything I thought I knew about myself was being replaced. I couldn't remember my family properly or even my own name."

The headmaster was about to say something when he saw an unexpected grin grow on Red's face, "but just when I was ready to give up she came to help me. The one who has suffered more than anyone else saved me and I gained a new purpose. To this day I still don't know if what I saw then was real or not and I don't care. She saved my life, the least I could do is try to do the same for others."

Her smile dropped however as the last rays of light peaked out over the horizon, "then as if by some sort of sick joke just when I had settled into my new life I get give my one desire, I get to go home. I went to my old house and tried to recapture my past but I only found pain. I saw my own grave Ozpin, no one should have to go through with that."

"It was too much, here I was home sweet home with no one to welcome me back. Even though my parents and friends were nearby I couldn't see them again or they could get hurt. As if that wasn't enough I was forced to watch my death as Laura again and feel the terror she felt," sighed Red.

"Finally I was asked a simple question, who am I? That one question haunted me like nothing ever had before. I wasn't Laura, I wasn't the person who I thought I was, all those memories weren't mine to begin with. So was I Ruby? No I was neither, so then what was I?" asked Red, turning to face Ozpin.

"If I was neither then what did I have to call my own? Neither the skills nor the friends I had were my own. The things I liked and cared for be they food, weapons…people. None of those feelings came from me, so what do I have left? You see now? I'm just the fragile fragments of two individuals barely keeping themselves together by masquerading as a dead girl," she finished as the last of the sun's light disappeared.

As Red's eyes adjusted to the dark she saw a sad frown on the headmaster's face, "tell me do you know why we call our world Remnant?" he asked.

Seeing Red shake her head he continued, "it's because we are all that's left. The scattered fragments of civilization that are trying to build a better life for themselves in an unforgiving world. Do not think of yourself as fragile fragments but rather defiant remnants, carrying on the hopes and dreams of your predecessors even after their deaths."

Ozpin paused as he turned to face her, "you say you have nothing left to call your own? Tell me could either of your predecessors have befriended Mr. Winchester and his team? Could they have changed them like you did? What about your teammates and friends from RWBY and JNPR? Do they treat you differently than they did with Ruby? You've even made Crescent Rose into your own, you are blessed with things if you could just take a moment to see them."

The headmaster sighed as Red remained silent, "Miss Rose tell me why did you come up here?"

Red frowned as she lay down, "I like high places they make everything just seem clearer you know? Helps me think."

"About what?" he asked.

"I was wondering if I should quit being team leader for RWBY. I mean I know you selected Ruby for a reason but I'm not the same girl you accepted into Beacon Ozpin. How can you be sure that someone like Weiss wouldn't make a better one?" she replied, causing the headmaster to frown.

"What brought on this line of thinking Miss Rose? There must be a reason," stated the headmaster.

"It's just that I've had some stress recently. I never feel safe anymore it almost feels like the calm before a storm and I've started snapping at people. If I can't even solve my own problems than how am I supposed to my team's?" answered Red in a quiet voice.

"Some burdens are just too big for one person to carry alone, I'm sure your teammates are worried about you," he replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure Ozpin," muttered Red, remembering her last conversation with them.

"I will leave the choice up to you Miss Rose I trust you to know best," said the headmaster, rising from the floor.

"I'll let you be alone with your thoughts just remember curfew is in a couple of hours. Have a good night Red," he farewelled, causing her to look up as the hatch shut.

Red spent another few minutes up in her sanctuary before sighing and heading back to her dorm, ready to turn in for the night.

* * *

><p>"Come with me," ordered Weiss, snapping Red awake as the heiress dragged the sleepy reaper from her bed and into the ballroom.<p>

Once they were inside Red saw the room being filled chairs and tables, she even saw Yang carrying a speaker on handed. Rubbing her eyes Red blinked as the sight didn't disappear from view and just sighed as she collapsed into the chair before resting her head comfortably on the table.

"Ruby! Don't you dare go back to sleep! I need your help with something," shouted Weiss, causing Red to groan as she looked up.

"What is it Ice Queen? Can't it wait?" whined Red.

Her teammate smiled as she placed two identical sheets of paper in front of the reaper, "I need you to pick a tablecloth."

Red just frowned as she looked at the pieces, "aren't they both the same?" she asked, confused.

"I don't even know why I asked!" sighed Weiss in frustration and walked away.

"Does that mean I can go back to bed now?" called Red, only to get a resounding no from both her teammates.

"Ruby we need to talk about what dress you're going to wear for the dance," informed Yang.

"Oh I'm not going," replied Red.

The temperature in the room rose several degrees as Yang put down the speaker and walked over to her younger sister, "Ruby you are going and that's final."

"What?! But why?" she exclaimed.

"Blake isn't the only one who needs a break. Trust me it will do you some good to just relax," explained the blonde with a stern expression.

"And you really think forcing me to go there against my own will is going to help me relax?" shot back Red.

"Alright then how about a deal? If I can get Blake to go to the dance you have to agree to go as well," offered the blonde.

"Ok but only if you get her to go with Sun," replied Red with a smirk, fully knowing just how much Blake hated them both at the moment.

"Deal," agreed Yang and the two sisters shook hands.

"Hey guys what's up?" greeted Sun as he and Neptune walked in.

"Just trying to figure out what dress to get Ruby," replied Yang.

"Red? In a dress? Now that would be something to see," grinned Sun.

"Oh ha ha Sun very funny. So what will you be wearing you exhibitionist?" asked Red, angrily.

"Uuhhh... this?" answered the Faunus gesturing to his current attire.

"Ignore him for he knows not what he says," interrupted Neptune.

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place," justified Sun.

"Yeah, we noticed," said Yang with a deadpan expression that was matched by her two teammates.

"Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?" asked Sun.

"Obviously," stated Weiss, crossing her arms in disapproval.

"Sorry Sun but I'm all out of ideas to help you two. Plus I don't think I'm really on speaking terms with her right now," apologized Red.

"It's okay it was my own fault just as much as your's," replied the Faunus.

Yang walked up between the two of them, "guys relax Blake will be going to that dance tomorrow."

"Oh please you think you can do what Sun and I have failed to do for the past couple of days?" scoffed Red.

"Ruby trust me Blake will be at that dance I can promise you that," stated Yang.

"You can't use force Yang that won't count. Besides it will only cause more problems in the long run," warned Red.

"I won't need to use force Ruby. I know how to handle these situations believe me," assured the blonde.

"And how could you possibly know that?" asked Weiss curiously.

Yang's expression darkened considerably and she whispered in a soft voice that only Red heard, "because I've been in her situation before."

They all watched as the brawler strode out of the room without another word and headed to the library. The friends all looked at each other confused and shrugged, either getting back to work like Weiss and Neptune or having a nap like Sun and Red.

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><p><strong>Hey guys did you like the newest chapter? I really enjoy writing Ozpin and Red interactions it makes me all philosophical and is incredibly fun to write. Also for those who noticed yes that scene was influenced by that game and you have made me happy for noticing it. Anyway thanks for all the support you guys have given me and once again Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays which ever you prefer.<strong>


	29. Pandora's Box

**Hey guys welcome to 2015. I thought I'd celebrate the start of the new year with an update, although the update rate will definitely slow down due to getting Destiny for Christmas and work. Sorry about that, so enjoy the next chapter.**

**P.S. It turns out that is having problems and that's why the first upload of this chapter wasn't working. Hopefully by re-uploading it you should be able to see it.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't need to think up a disclaimer for every chapter.**

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><p>"What about this one?" asked Yang as she shoved a dress into Red's hands.<p>

Red just sighed and walked back into the bath room to get changed, ignoring the squeals of delight coming from the brawler as she walked out. Seriously why does Yang have so many dresses for Ruby? It's clear that neither Red nor her predecessor were into these kinds of things. Rolling her eyes she tried to walk to the door, having had enough of being Yang's personal Barbie doll, when she tripped over in the high heeled shoes.

"How does Weiss fight in these things?" grumbled Red as she got back to her feet.

Accepting Yang's help the two sisters made their way to the ballroom with Red finally beginning to get the hang of the heels. "You know if Blake doesn't show up I'm going back to bed," reminded Red, as they entered the ballroom.

"Oh don't worry she'll show up, after all I'm saving a dance for her," replied Yang with a grin.

"Bumblebee," coughed Red.

"What was that Ruby?" asked Yang as they joined Weiss.

"Nothing!" replied the reaper hastily.

Yang and Weiss just shrugged when they all heard the door behind them open again, turning around Red's mouth dropped open in a comic expression of shock. There was Sun and Blake walking in together with held hands, she quickly rubbed her eyes and to her amazement the image stayed.

"I told you she would come," said Yang.

"What? But how? I don't…" stuttered Red as her brain refused to acknowledge the sight before it.

"Well Ruby looks like you lost again. I guess you're staying after all," commented Yang, smugly as she walked off.

'Note to self never ever make bets with Yang again no matter what my aura says,' thought Red as she made her way to the punch bowl. It wasn't long after this that she was approached by an equally miserable Jaune.

"I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too," he commented, standing next to her.

"Yep," replied Red, popping the _p_.

"To the socially awkward," toasted Jaune as he held out his glass.

"Live long and prosper," laughed Red as the two friends clinked their glasses together.

"So are you and Pyrrha here together?" asked Red curiously.

"No what gave you that idea? She's way out of my league, I mean come on she's on the cover of cereal boxes," retorted Jaune with a laugh.

"And the heiress to the largest dust corporation on Remnant isn't?" questioned Red, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Exactly! See you get it," replied Jaune.

She just shot the blonde an incredulous look before shaking her head, 'don't question it Red that path leads to madness.' Shaking the thoughts from her head the two friends sat in silence and watched as the couples danced, Red smiling slightly at the sight of Sun and Blake letting loose. 'Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all,' thought Red as she let herself relax.

"Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," she apologized to Jaune.

"Meh, it's fine. Neptune's pretty 'cool'. I get why she went with him," dismissed Jaune.

"What do you mean?" asked Red confused.

"Well, come on, not many people can pull off blue hair," replied the blonde as he took a sip of his punch.

"No, I mean, Weiss came to the dance alone," informed Red, causing Jaune to choke.

"Uh, What?!" he cried.

"Yeah, she said that she had too much to focus on to worry about boys," answered Red.

"Hold my punch," said Jaune as he handed her his cup and disappeared into the crowd.

Looking down at the cups she frowned, 'umm…which one was mine?' As she was staring at the offending cups she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Ozpin as he appeared beside her.

"Surprisingly yes. I'm not really a fan of these types of dances but even I have to admit, it feels good to just slow down for a while," she replied.

"Well, you can't spend your whole life on the battlefield, even if you may want to," agreed Ozpin.

"Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately," commented Red with crossed arms.

"If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked, although one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot," joked the headmaster.

"Or a twisted ankle," laughed Red as she looked down at her own feet.

"It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget," explained Ozpin.

Red smiled and was about to respond when suddenly something felt off, unable to put her finger on it she frowned. After waiting a couple of minutes her frowned deepened as the feeling never left, putting it down to nerves she excused herself from the headmaster and headed back to the dorm. Upon reaching the outside the feeling grew stronger to the point that Red could recognize it as her aura. Slipping her feet out of the heels she ran towards the wrongness and her eyes narrowed as she saw a figure running across the rooftops.

Surrounding her feet in aura the reaper ran in the direction of the figure, already lamenting leaving Crescent Rose in her dorm. 'The one time I don't have her with me and this happens, maybe Yang's right I should just leave it in the locker,' grumbled Red as she arrived at a tower surrounded by guards, either dead or unconscious she couldn't tell. 'Well at least I still have Earth aura,' she thought as she glowed a blood red and the elevator doors opened. It looked deserted but Red knew better, she could smell the scent of the thief, almost like the smell of ash.

"Come on out I know you're here. I can smell you," she called and a figure rose up from behind one of the terminals before summoning two swords in her hands.

"Looks like surrendering peacefully isn't an option. Guess I have no choice after all," sighed Red as she activated her Earth aura.

At first it was just like all the other times she had practised, she felt her body shifting and her senses sharpening. However her senses were sharpening to a degree that hadn't been possible before and Red felt something beginning to burn itself onto her arms and legs. It wasn't long after this that she felt waves of emotions crash into her, feelings of hate, anger, fear, everything she'd been bottling up was unleashed. Unable to take it anymore her mind snapped and a mad grin spread across her face as Pandora's Box was suddenly opened.

* * *

><p>Cinder frowned from her hiding place as she heard the door open, 'the general shouldn't be here yet. What's going on?' Her thoughts were answered as a familiar voice echoed across the room, causing Cinder's frown to deepen.<p>

"Come on out I know you're here. I can smell you," came Red's smug voice.

Growling in frustration Cinder checked her mask was still on her face before standing up, revealing herself to her opponent. Cinder smiled when she saw Red was unarmed, her scythe nowhere in sight. 'Looks like I can finally eliminated this problem myself,' she thought eagerly as her swords were summoned to her hands.

Red's eyes narrowed at the sight of the swords before a frown spread across her face, "looks like surrendering peacefully isn't an option. Guess I have no choice after all."

Cinder took a cautious step backwards as Red began to glow a blood red that rapidly changed to a deep black, the sounds of bones cracking filled the room as her hands grew large sharp looking claws. Cinder took another involuntary step back as she saw Red's eyes change, turning black before glowing a harsh red. Suddenly Red let out a cry of pain as she began gripping her head before eyeing the ground, swaying on her feet. Cinder watched in fascination as red glowing rune-like tattoos began to appear on Red's body, starting at her arms and legs before beginning to grow inwards towards her head. Cinder coughed as the black aura emanating off her opponent began filling the room like smoke, briefly causing her to feel light headed before her own aura kicked in.

Snapping out of her daze she smiled when she saw that Red hadn't moved an inch. Taking advantage of her seemingly helpless opponent Cinder charged, sending the left sword flying towards Red's head. The criminal mastermind was completely shocked as she saw a manic grin spread across her opponent's face before Red grabbed the sword in mid swing, the runes glowing harshly as the sword began to crack in her grip. Red then began to giggle as she used the sword as leverage to pull Cinder towards her, slashing at the mastermind's throat. Eyes widening Cinder let go of the sword and it vanished into thin air as she brought the other one down in an overhead slash at her chest.

Feeling the sword pass through flesh Cinder leapt backwards and frowned, 'that shouldn't have happened her aura should've shielded her.' It was then that she realized something, where was the cry of pain? Looking back at her opponent Cinder felt a drop of cold sweat run down her back, Red wasn't crying in pain. Instead she was giggling fanatically as she examined her arm that had blocked the blow to the chest, blood dripping down it and staining the tiles.

"It's just so funny," laughed Red, her eyes gleaming with madness. "It should hurt but it doesn't. I can't feel anything, let's try to change that."

Suddenly Red was sprinting towards her, laughing manically as she approached. Seeing her rapidly closing the distance between them Cinder sent large fireballs towards her opponent, hoping to slow her advance until she could summon her sword again. Now this would have worked against any normal opponent, logically when a large ball of fire is approaching a person they would dive for cover however in her current state Red was anything but logically. An eager grin on her face and the runes glowing again, Red continued on course and charged the fireballs. Cinder watched as her opponent hit the fireballs, the glow from the fire being briefly consumed by the black aura before pushing it away as the fireballs exploded. As the fireballs burst Cinder hastily backpedaled, seeing Red leapt out of the explosion, still laughing despite looking slightly singed.

"Is that all? Don't you have anything else? You know like twisting off, gouging out or tearing off? Come on you're supposed to be the evil antagonist so do something to me! Something more intense!" whined Red.

Before Cinder could do anything in response she was grabbed by the head and repeatedly slammed into the wall as Red grinded her face against it. Feeling the mask beginning to slip off her face Cinder panicked as she conjured another large fireball and fired it at point black range, the explosion engulfing the both of them and sending soaring into the air. Landing with a groan Cinder coughed as she felt her entire body in pain, her aura spinning into overdrive trying to heal it. Checking to make sure the mask was still on her face she struggled to her feet and looked around at the carnage. The entire room was destroyed with not a single terminal left intact and there was a large gaping creator from where she was earlier. To make it worse no one could have missed the resulting explosion which meant company was on the way. 'Still,' Cinder breathed with a sigh of relief, 'no one could have survived that without their aura shielding them which means one major complication has just been solved.'

"Now that's more like it! We were totally sent flying! Maybe I should start calling you Creator Face?" said a cheery voice, making Cinder's eyes widen as she spun around.

Sure enough there was Red, her dress in tatters and still alight with embers but otherwise unharmed. The mastermind tried to retreat as her opponent began walking towards her, giving Cinder the impression of a predator stalking prey, only to collapse as her body finally gave out.

"Awe is play time over? Ok then," pouted Red as she began to stamp on Cinder's neck.

'She was playing with me the whole time?!' thought the mastermind, both angry and shocked. Seeing spots appear in her vision she used the last of her energy to grab Red's offending leg before slamming her aura infused arm into the back of her knee. There was a satisfying sound of bones breaking as Red's eyes widened and she toppled to the ground, Cinder immediately felt air rush back into her lungs. Scrambling back to her feet she watched in dismay as Red simply looked at her broken leg in confusion before shrugging and grinning as she stood back up, giggling once again.

"That's better boss fights are no fun if they're too easy," cheered Red.

'She's insane!' thought Cinder in dismay as Red began to approach her, only for her black outline to sputter and blobs of a bright vibrant red began to appear. Instantly Red cried out in pain and her body began to return to normal, the claws disappearing and her eyes returning back to their silver colour before they rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground. Unsure of what just happened Cinder cautiously approached her downed opponent and grinned as she grabbed her sword. However just as she was about to land the killing blow Cinder heard the sound of the elevator arriving, realizing that the welcoming committee had arrived she growled in frustration and fled. Leaving a confused Ironwood, Ozpin and Glynda to step into the room before rushing over to Red.

"We have to get her to the infirmary now!"

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><p>Cinder groaned as she collapsed into her bed, completely exhausted. Shortly after this she heard the sound of the door opening and two gasps of shock from her subordinates at her condition. Emerald rushed over to the first aid kit they'd stashed in the room while Mercury just closed the door before walking over.<p>

"Cinder what happened? We saw the explosion but you never answered our calls," asked the kickboxer.

"Radio broke," replied Cinder as Emerald began to administer first aid.

"I see still I thought the plan was to bail out if you were discovered not try to fight the General," commented Mercury.

"I saw a golden opportunity and it backfired horribly besides it wasn't the General that did this," admitted Cinder.

Both Emerald and Mercury exchanged looks of surprise, "but all the other Beacon staff were accounted for. I can't imagine you having any trouble with run of the mill guards," informed Emerald.

"I had a run in with our old friend Red. She was unarmed and alone so I took my chances and it failed," she informed them.

"Did she recognize you?" asked Mercury, worriedly.

Cinder frowned, "I made sure to keep my mask on and not say a word. However she said something that makes me worried, 'I can smell you'. If that's the case it would be wise if I kept my distance for a while."

"Red was able to do this to you by herself and unarmed?!" exclaimed greenette in disbelief aas she examined the wounds, causing Cinder to hiss as Emerald placed too much pressure on them.

"Her Earth aura is extremely dangerous if either of you encounter her in that state flee at the first chance you get, consider that a standing order. Secondly stop spying on her we don't want to draw her attention to us right now," she commanded, receiving looks of shock from both of them.

"Yes ma'am," they both replied.

"I'm going to need to wait a couple of days to completely recover and for the heat to die down. So you two will need to keep up appearances as students, continue going to classes and try to find out everything you can about Earth aura. But for the love of God be discreet," she ordered them, getting nods of understanding in response.

* * *

><p>Red yawned as she opened her eyes, blinking in surprise as she woke in the familiar setting of Beacon's infirmary. 'What happened? I remember encountering the thief then I felt weird and everything became a blur,' she thought confused. Stretching she got out of the bed and was surprised to see herself clothed in a some sort of white gown, with numerous bandages wrapped around her.<p>

"What are you doing up?!" scolded a familiar voice as the door opened.

Red spun around as Glynda angrily approached her, "huh?" replied Red intelligently.

Goodwitch just sighed as she rubbed her temples, "you're supposed to be under sedatives. Lord knows we put you under enough to keep most Grimm down."

"Um…sorry?" apologized Red confused.

Glynda shook her head, "it doesn't matter. Still I must ask you to go back to bed, your aura still hasn't finished healing you yet. When you are ready to move the Headmaster will want a word about the incident."

"Incident?" repeated the reaper.

Glynda raised her eyebrows, "how much of last night do you remember?"

Red frowned as she sat back on the bed, "I was at the dance when something felt…off. I thought it was just nerves and decided to turn in for the night when I saw a person hoping along the buildings so I followed them."

"And then?" interrogated the professor.

Red's frown deepened, "I remember catching her in that room but everything's hazy. I remember anger, fear, enjoyment…madness," she replied, whispering the last part.

The professor sighed, "I see very well I will inform your teammates that you are awake just remember Miss Rose. You are not to leave this bed until I get back, understood?" ordered Glynda sternly.

Red just nodded and began staring at her hands, not even reacting as the door shut and the professor left. Frowning she examined her hands and was startled when it briefly glowed a black colour before disappearing, 'I didn't activate it that time.' Feeling a stinging on her arm she unwrapped the bandages and her eyes widened, her entire arm was covered in dull red runic tattoos. Recognizing the tattoos Red felt a mixture of fear and confusion as she quickly rewrapped the bandages and lay back on the bed. **Why am I scared? It was so much fun and I definitely enjoy it. **Instantly sitting up Red glanced around the room but to her surprise found there was no one there. 'What the hell is going on here?' she wondered fearfully as she looked up at the ceiling and the door slammed open.

"Ruby you're okay!" cried Yang as her teammates rushed in.

Red didn't respond and just frowned as she tried to banish the memories of last night to the back of her mind. But still a small doubting voice in the back of her mind began to whisper, 'am I?'

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><p><strong>Well looks like Red has begun to realise something's off with her aura. The question is, now that Pandora's Box has been opened can it be closed? Who knows, anyway hope you all liked the chapter. I'm really looking forward to writing the Mountain Glen arc now.<strong>


	30. A Story of Two Worlds

**Hey guys welcome to the start of the Mountain Glen arc I hope you enjoy the opening chapter. **

**I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't be so bad at editing.**

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><p>"Ruby you're okay!" cried Yang as they all rushed into the infirmary.<p>

Ruby didn't respond and just stared at her hands with a troubled expression, causing her teammates to share a confused look between them. "Hey sis, you feeling okay?" asked the blonde, pointing at Ruby's bandaged arms.

Yang frowned as Ruby shook her head, snapping out of her daze before quickly shoving her arms behind her back. The troubled look on her face disappeared and was replaced with a fake smile that Yang recognized as Ruby turned to face them.

"It'll take more than that to keep me down Yang," she said with a laugh.

"Ruby what's wrong with your arms?" interrogated Yang.

"Nothing!" replied the reaper, quickly.

The rest of team RWBY's eyes narrowed in suspicion at this and Blake wordlessly handed Ruby a change of clothes. Her expression brightening Ruby grabbed the clothes before shutting the curtains, blocking off their view as she got changed. Blake then nodded to Yang, realizing what the Faunus meant the brawler frowned as she walked past the curtain. Ruby was in the process of getting changed when the blonde walked in and Yang's eyes narrowed as she saw some sort of tattoos covering the inflamed skin of her sister's arms. Hearing the curtain open Ruby quickly covered herself in her hood, hiding the tattoos from sight.

"Yang what are you doing?!" demanded her sister, angrily.

"I thought you might need some help getting changed, you were injured pretty badly after all. Besides I used to help you get changed when you were younger after all," lied Yang.

"That was then and this is now. Get out!" growled Ruby.

"Ok sheesh sis no need to rip my head off," joked Yang, noting how Ruby flinched at the mention of this.

"Ruby if something's bothering you… you know you can talk to any of us about it," frowned Yang.

"I know Yang but this is something I need to do myself," sighed Ruby.

Yang shook her head and walked back to her two teammates, ignoring the questioning looks Weiss and Blake sent her. 'Later,' she mouthed to them as Ruby walked out in her combat gear and the team headed back to their dorm. As they walked in Weiss tripped over a package that had been dumped in the middle of the room.

"Yang what did I tell you about leaving your things on the floor!" raged the heiress as she picked herself off the ground.

"It's a package from dad," stated Yang, ignoring her teammate as she picked up the cylinder.

Opening the package they were all surprised when a dog fell out followed by multiple cans of dog food. Instantly Blake was on the bed and glaring at the dog from above as it barked at her, Yang suppressed a snicker as she picked up a letter.

"Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei today for you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang," read Yang.

Ruby looked at the letter curiously, "so he's leaving Patch for a couple of days?" she asked.

Yang nodded before her eyes widened and she turned to look at her sister, "how did you know we lived in Patch?"

The rest of the team turned to look at Ruby who was blinking in surprise, "I don't know," replied the reaper.

"Maybe Zwei will jog more memories," said Yang, eagerly as she shoved the dog into Ruby's face.

Zwei just sniffed Ruby's hand before he began growling and barking, making Yang struggled to keep her hold on the dog. Ruby instantly leapt backwards onto her bed and watched from a safe distance as the blonde struggled with the squirming dog.

"Zwei what's wrong? It's just Ruby," lectured Yang, trying to quiet the barking animal.

As Zwei began to quieten down they all heard Ruby's scroll go off before the reaper just sighed and headed to the door. "Cya guys later Ozpin wants to talk," she said as she shut the door, leaving an angry Yang to scold Zwei.

* * *

><p>"They were here! Ozpin, they were here!" shouted Ironwood as he slammed his fist onto the desk.<p>

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James," stated an equally annoyed Goodwitch.

"Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just continue to let that ticking time bomb do the work for us!" shouted the general.

"That 'ticking time bomb' as you so eloquently put it is one of our students and will be shown the proper respect General," came Glynda's cold reply.

"But for how much longer Glynda? You both saw the markings on her arms as well as what Port's told us, you both know what that signifies," argued Ironwood before turning to Ozpin.

"We should place her into protective custody. Not just for her sake but for the safety of the other students as well," he told the headmaster.

"We cannot lock up Miss Rose for something she hasn't even done!" shot back Glynda.

"So we wait for her to attack and possibly kill the other students before trying to stop her? Can you tell the parents of the dead children that when you meet them Glynda?" replied Ironwood.

"I didn't mean that and you know it!" growled the professor.

"Enough! This childish bickering is pointless. General I understand your concern but I'm am not giving up on Miss Rose just yet. She has fought it off for this long and I fail to see why this should change, she is a stubborn soul," lectured Ozpin as a smile appeared on his face.

Ironwood just frowned, "tell me Oz have you felt her aura since the incident last night?"

This time it was Ozpin's turn to frown as Glynda looked between the two of them with a confused look, "what are you talking about James?" she asked.

Ironwood glanced at her with a sigh, "did you not find it strange that her aura has taken so long to heal her this much considering the amount of it she has? Before she gave off a dominant Remnant aura with the Earth one hidden beneath."

The general paused and Ozpin took over, "her aura now gives off very little Remnant aura but an overwhelming Earth one. Almost as if one is shutting the other down," concluded the headmaster.

Glynda's eyes widened and a silence descend on the trio before Ozpin spoke up, "we can discuss Miss Rose's condition later for now we need to focus on the White Fang."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Ironwood.

Ozpin frowned as he folded his arms over his table, "we all know how accurate Earth aura is. Last night I spoke to Miss Rose and she mentioned how she didn't feel safe here anymore, it is possible she had detected the infiltrators."

"And if so it's possible she might be able to track them down," finished Ironwood with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Glynda looked at the two headmasters in shock, "you want to use her as a tracking hound?!" she exclaimed.

Before either of them could respond the all heard the sound of the door opening and turning around they saw Ruby walk in. Glynda noted that the bandages hadn't been removed from her arms and that the reaper's eyes never left the general's, who returned her weary gaze.

"Thank you for coming, Ruby. How are you feeling?" asked Ozpin.

"Okay, I guess. I'd feel better if I had more success at catching criminals then being one," she joked, only to rub the back of her neck as silence filled the room. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for, got it."

"Ruby do you remember anything more then what you told Glynda?" asked the headmaster.

"Sorry Headmaster if I did I'd tell you," she replied with a shake of her head.

"I see…never mind. Tell me you said that you didn't feel safe here recently, has this feeling passed?" he asked.

Ruby cocked her head in confusion before frowning, "no Headmaster it hasn't. In fact it's only gotten stronger recently," she answered.

The three teachers exchanged a worried glance, "It would seem your aura may be the answer to our problem, have you had any more of these 'feelings?'" replied Ozpin.

Ruby didn't say anything before a smile spread across her face, "actually Headmaster I remember something about somewhere outside Southeast Vale."

"Southeast Vale? That is oddly specific," commented Ironwood, suspicious.

Ruby just shrugged and Ozpin smiled, knowing the real reason for this information. "Thank you Miss Rose you can go now," he dismissed with a wave.

Ruby nodded and left the office as Ironwood and Glynda turned to Ozpin. "Southeast Vale? That can only be one place," stated Glynda.

"Indeed it would seem the universe does indeed have a dark sense of humor," agreed Ozpin.

"We need to send as many troops as we can into the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way," said Ironwood.

Glynda rounded on the general with a glare, "why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like a contest of measuring di—!"

"Glynda!" interrupted Ozpin.

"Well, he does," sulked the professor.

"She's right. As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale. Beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic," said Ozpin as he turned to face Ironwood.

"I have served you faithfully for years... but if you mean to tell me that your plan is to hold the defenses, and wait—" stated the general.

"It is not!" shouted Ozpin, getting up from his chair. "You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?"

Ironwood took a deep breath, "very well I suppose now that the hound has got the scent it's only a matter of time until we reel them in."

* * *

><p>Red sighed as she walked into the library, her mind thinking back to the conversation from Ozpin's office. 'Was it really a good idea to mention that? Oh well too late to take it back now. Hopefully they others aren't mad,' she pondered before taking a seat in front of a computer. After taking a couple of minutes to figure out how to use the different Remnant systems she started up the internet browsing function and went to what looked like a search engine site. 'Ok here goes nothing,' she thought as she began typing. As predicted however typing in 'Earth aura' only got her a list of known Semblances that use the earth element or how to boost your aura with earth Dust, both interesting but neither what she was looking for.<p>

"Well I suppose it was too much to hope for," sighed Red when suddenly a thought came to her head.

Frowning she typed in 'other worlds' and 'Earth' and to her amazement there was a single result. "The scientific community has become intrigued by numerous ruins that were excavated near Mistrals border," she read out loud.

"The ruins in question were discovered by a group of hunters on one of their daily patrols when they were chased by a large group of Grimm and got lost in the nearby mountains. After making their way back to the city the hunters informed the council of what they'd found, instantly sparking a number of archaeologists to come rushing due to the pristine conditions of the ruins," she read, her interest now beginning to grow.

"Archaeologists were stunned to find a primitive form of modern day Valiyic being used as the previous inhabitant's language, leading some to speculate that the language had originated there. The ruins depicted pictures of an individuals fighting Grimm with weapons that bore an eerie similarity with a current modern day weapon known as the scythe," continued Red as the sound of pouring rain was heard outside.

"This made some believe that like Valiyic the original style of this fighting may have been conceived here. After months of excavating the scientific community was salivating as the teams uncovered a library, holding large amounts of knowledge including the first recorded instant of Dust being used in combat. However before the archive could be studied in depth the teams had to abandon the site as large numbers of Grimm attacked," she frowned as she kept reading.

"Multiple attempts to reclaim the site were made but the Grimm just grew in numbers and never left the ruins, baffling experts as to why they would inhabit such a hostile area in the large numbers present. Thus the site was closed off and a team of hunters assigned to watch it and keep an eye on the Grimm leaving the archaeologists with only the few books they took with them before they fled. Most of which appear to be some form of folklore or fairytales of the ancient civilizations which although interesting has disappointed experts compared to what has been lost," finished Red.

Sighing she scrolled down and her eyes widened as she stared at the screen unable to believe what her eyes were showing her.

_**Translated extract of suspected folklore book.**_

_**Original name: unknown**_

_**Given name: A story of two worlds.**_

_It all started with a question, "What is better; to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"_

_This was debated for many millennia with arguments for either side being made but no conclusion was reached. So to answer this question two identical worlds were created, one with beings of pure light, born from Dust to fight the darkness and one with beings born from Earth who carried their own darkness locked inside them. And so the two worlds grew under the appraising eyes of their watchers, each beginning to reflect their inhabitants. As the years passed the debate began to grow one sided as the creatures of light grew and prospered while their darker counterparts painted a history of blood. Yet despite the numerous bloodshed being displayed one of the watchers refused to acknowledge the creatures of light as better and despite all its companions siding against it, the watcher would not be swayed and so the debate continued._

"_Look at the violence displayed. They will surely destroy themselves at this rate, you cannot still believe they are better!" argued one of the watchers, as they saw the dark world once again be consumed in the fires of war._

"_In order to fight the darkness you must first experience it yourself," mused their lone opponent._

_And so their silent observations went on, with the world of light creating great utopias of cities and sharing a time of unprecedented peace and development. The beings of Dust learning to use the light of their souls, their aura, to grow in power while their darker counterparts continued to wage a bloody conflict that scared the very world itself. Death became a constant companion for this world as disease, famine and war continued to rage on its surface, however much to the annoyance of its competitors the lone watcher never swayed from his choice._

"_Why do you continue to put such faith in these beings? They are clearly flawed compared to their counterparts," asked one of its opponents._

"_Yes they are flawed…but a lot of them try, to do better, to forgive," sighed the lone watcher._

"_Look at both sides of every conflict, every act of darkness they commit and you will see individuals who do not give in to it. Individuals who have faced the worst horrors and yet still fight for the good of their people and not just for rage and vengeance. Everyday these beings are tested against the darkness and everyday more and more resist it," it concluded, much to the shock of the rest of the observers._

_The rest of the watchers just voiced their counterarguments but seeing that their opponent would not be swayed they introduced the embodiment of darkness into the world of light. Hoping to prove to their lone kin wrong and finally put this debate to an end they all watched as the creatures of darkness, the creatures of Grimm, invaded the world of light. It was there that things started going wrong, the beings of light began fighting, not the creatures of darkness but themselves, failing to see the true threat. For the first time in its history the world of light erupted into war as the once united people splintered into factions, each determined to spill the others blood even as the darkness advanced. The watchers were shocked at this display for if there was one thing they'd learnt from watching the darker world it was this. There was always one truly unifying force, one call that would always unite their darker kin. The emergence of a common enemy._

_It had been shown time and again in the beings of Earth, even the most bitter of enemies uniting against a common foe before stumbling into an odd sense of peace however short it might be. Yet the creatures of Dust failed at this very basic principal, caring only for the survival of their own faction and failing to see the bigger picture. Thus the once might kingdom of light crumbled under this assault and the remaining remnants began a long and brutal struggle for survival. In this time the darker world also suffered the largest war ever fought in its long and bloody memory, and for the first time the darker counterparts began to grow weary of conflict. The observers watched in amazement as the beings began using what they'd learnt in conflicts to other areas; factories that once fuelled war machines were repurposed, medicines became wide spread limiting most of the diseases, trade began with the different nations as food and culture was exchanged which in turn created closer ties as well as fended off starvation. The beings then built great cities to rival even their counterparts at the height of their glory before sending their gaze towards the stars. _

_The watchers could only look at their lone companion in disbelief as this scared and flawed world began growing, creating masterpieces of art and engineering that the creatures of light had only dreamed about. Even after discovering and unlocking the secrets behind the darkness within them, they still turned away from it. Refusing to lose the last bits of light they had left for the sake of power, while the creatures of light began to greedily horde power. The watchers could only watch on in disappointment as the lights of the creatures of Dust began to slowly but surely get corrupted in their lust for power. As more conflicts spread over the once light world and the creatures of Grimm began to multiply it was clear that the debate had come to an end. _

_Sighing they all turned to their lone companion and congratulated it before preparing to leave, the debate having finally come to a conclusion. "It is not over yet," announced the lone observer._

_This startled the rest as they turned to face it, "how so? It is clear what the outcome will be," asked one._

"_There will be no victory in strength yes. But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that they've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul," mused the loner._

"_No matter how brilliant the light, you have made it clear that all will become corrupted and eventually flicker and die," came the counterargument._

"_Indeed so let us save that innocent light by engulfing it in the darkness, after all the brighter the light the longer the shadow," replied the lone observer._

_There was a stunned silence as they all realized what was being suggested, before the excited group returned to their previous spots near the two worlds. The two worlds, one of light yet full of nothing but remnants and the other of darkness yet peaceful and growing. Two worlds that had been joined by fate and yet never met. Two worlds that should have remained separate were for better or worse now linked together and in this process one shall rise, either as our savior or our destroyer. Whatever the consequences it is clear that the Red Reaper is coming and is destined to change the fate of both worlds forever, for good… or ill._

Shutting down the computer Red walked back to her dorm, 'that has to be a coincidence doesn't it?' she thought worriedly. Opening the door Red was immediately grabbed by her teammates before being dragged to the airship terminal. "Come on Ruby we had to cover for you at the presentation the least you could do is pick up the pace!" lectured Weiss.

"What's going on?" she asked, struggling free from their grasp as she ran alongside them.

"We just got given our grading mission and guess what? It's in Southeast Vale how lucky is that?!" exclaimed an excited Yang.

Red grinned, equally happy to get and start exploring when Weiss suddenly stopped in front of her. Sending Red crashing into the heiress as the two tumbled over, climbing off her annoyed teammate Red looked at the figure before them and her heart sank.

"Why, hello girls. Who's ready to fight for their lives?" asked a cheery Oobleck.

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><p><strong>Well there we go another chapter unfortunately I won't be able to work on any new ones until Feb sorry guys. At least I didn't end on a cliff hanger (sort of). Also is there anyone who is willing to edit the chapters written so far...I'm kind of getting tired of rereading them again and again while correcting mistakes.<strong>

**P.S. Valiyic is the name for English in the world of RWBY since I don't remember them ever giving it a name, if I'm wrong feel free to tell me and I'll change it.**


	31. A Mountain Of Problems

**Hey guys good news! I'm ahead of schedule so I was able to release a new chapter early the next one should be out early Feb. Enjoy.**

**I don't own RWBY (except for a Black-Ray copy).**

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><p>Red sighed and gripped her seat belt tighter as the Bullhead encountered yet more turbulence. Honestly why is it always a Bullhead? They could have used a nice smooth airship but no it was too 'impractical.' Her mind then drifted back to her current aura situation with a frown, she'd tried using her aura but every time it would sputter before blobs of black began appearing. Giving a fearful shudder Red snapped the thoughts out of her head and focused on the conversation the rest of the team were having with Oobleck, hoping to distract herself.<p>

"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter," admitted Yang.

"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles," replied Oobleck in his usual fast paced voice.

"Huntsman have to eat mushrooms?" asked Red completely confused.

"No those are truffles," said Blake.

"So we have to eat sprouts?" responded Red scratching her head.

"Those are Brussels," sighed Yang. "Seriously you cook how do you not know this sis?"

"Well it's not ingredients that I normally use! Besides it doesn't seem to help you cook Yang," huffed Red.

The sister's argument was interrupted by the sound of Oobleck clearing his throat, "as I was saying, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!"

"What does history have to do with this?" asked Weiss.

"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys, if I were to wager," lectured Oobleck.

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it," commented Red.

"Exactly Miss Rose! It's good to see Earth at least values the lessons of the past," congratulated the professor.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that professor. Most don't study it, in fact I think a lot of people would rather forget it," she informed him.

"What that's ridiculous! Why would any nation let alone planet want to forget their past?" he asked, shocked.

Remembering back to the story she read she gave a sad smile, "a history painted in blood is nothing to be proud of Professor."

"Surely it can't be that bad," commented Blake.

Red gave a dark laugh, "when Laura last checked, in the last decade there had been more wars then years."

A silence filled the aircraft as they all processed what she'd said, "Miss Rose when this is over I would very much appreciate a discussion about Earth. It would be very interesting to see how such a culture evolved," stated Oobleck breaking the silence.

"Sure and you can teach me more on Remnant's history, but I don't know a lot I'm afraid," agreed Red.

Oobleck nodded before Weiss spoke up, "so where exactly are we headed?"

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures! Mountain Glen," announced the professor.

"I think I remember Professor Port mentioning that place once, something about it being overrun by Grimm," stated Red.

Yang turned to look at Red with a sad expression, "That's right. It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."

"Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder," replied Oobleck.

"And a likely place for a hideout," continued Blake.

"Precisely!" answered the professor. "Now get ready we'll be there momentarily."

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><p>Team RWBY along with professor Oobleck leapt out of the Bullhead and landed in their various combat stances, all except Ruby who quickly rolled as she landed with a grimace. They all turned to look at Ruby with confused expressions but the reaper just shrugged before getting Crescent Rose ready.<p>

"It was too big a drop to land normally," she explained to them.

"That's why we have aura," said Weiss.

"Oh right guess I just forgot to use it," replied Ruby with a sheepish grin.

They all looked at the reaper with various expressions on their faces before Oobleck drew their attention, "Ladies! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first real mission as Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"

They all nodded and Blake stepped forward, "So, what are your orders, professor?"

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" commented Oobleck. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behaviour, one of which being... Grimm."

"Uh, what?" responded Ruby.

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment," replied the professor.

"What?!" exclaimed Yang as they all turned around with their weapons ready.

"Stop!" ordered Oobleck, much to the shock of everyone as they lowered their weapons. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."

"So…what now?" asked Ruby.

"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey," he instructed.

"How long do we wait?" said Blake.

Oobleck frowned as he rubbed his chin, "It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months - and there's the whole pack."

They all watched as an entire pack of Beowolves emerged from the street before they all turned to face the hunters.

"And now they've seen us," stated the professor, unhelpfully as the pack charged.

"God damn it murphy!" muttered Ruby as she loaded Crescent Rose.

"So what do we do now?" asked Yang.

Oobleck looked at them all before speaking up, "show me what you're capable of."

They all readied their weapons and turned to the pack when the Beowolves started acting oddly. The entire pack slowed to a stop and began sniffing the air. They all watched as the pack then turned in unison to look at something before whining and retreating back the way they came, leaving the very confused hunters behind. Yang turned to examine what the Grimm had been looking at only to see Ruby standing there, with a look of concentration on her face. Yang's eyes narrowed as she saw a red outline with large blobs of black surround her sister but it vanished quickly and Yang was left wondering if it was simply a trick of the eye.

"Did Grimm just run?" exclaimed Weiss, voicing all their thoughts.

"Does it matter? It just made our job easier right?" quickly replied Ruby, drawing an suspicious look from Oobleck before he nodded.

"Your leader is right. While this is an odd occurrence we need to focus on the mission," he lectured and turned to Ruby. "Which direction do you think we should go?"

"Why are you asking me? Aren't you better qualified to make that decision?" said Ruby.

"Humor me," responded the professor, getting shocked looks from the rest of team RWBY as they glanced at each other.

"Umm…that way I guess," decided Ruby, pointing down one of the destroyed streets.

With the decision being made they all headed down the empty streets in search of some form of clue and before long they all grew bored with the fruitless searching, they never even encountered any Grimm to let loose on.

"Grr…I thought this was a Grimm hotspot," growled Yang as she kicked another door in.

"That's what the report said," sighed Blake.

"Then where are they all? We've been here for hours and not a single one has shown up," replied the angry blonde.

"It is odd, it's almost as if they're avoiding us," commented Weiss.

"Most would consider that a good thing not bad," replied Ruby with crossed arms.

"But it's so boring!" exclaimed Yang.

"Your leader is right not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, girls. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination! Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that," reminded their observer.

"O-Of course!" replied Yang, trying to sound convincing and failing miserably.

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><p>The next few hours were spent searching buildings with Red flaring her aura whenever she was alone, only to frown as each time the red outline sputtered before blobs of black appeared or just died entirely and pain lanced through her arms as the tattoos began glowing. Oobleck was busy too, questioning her entire team on why they wanted to be huntresses, Red was surprised to hear all their responses. It just seemed kind of shallow to her but that might be due to her familiarity with Ruby's reasoning. It was then that she stopped as a thought ran through her head, what was her reasoning? Why did she want to become a huntresses? She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice everyone else had stopped until Yang waved a hand in front of her face.<p>

"Remnant to Ruby? Hello? Anyone home?" teased the blonde.

Red snapped out of her trance before turning to Oobleck, "sorry! uhh... are we ready to keep going?"

The professor gave her an odd look as he shook his head, "Nope! I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon."

Oobleck then threw a bag at Yang, "you three, set up camp in that building. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby."

They all shared a glance before Red sighed as she followed the professor down the destroyed buildings and stopped in her tracks at the sight that greeted her. There were massive elephant like creatures roaming just outside the ruin's border.

"What is that? It looks just like a massive elephant!" exclaimed the reaper.

"That, my dear girl, is a Grimm," answered Oobleck.

Red just blinked before wearily taking out Crescent Rose, "I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size," warned the professor.

"But... what if they attacks us?" she asked, fearfully.

"Fret not, Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless," he informed her, gesturing to the herd with one hand.

"You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they have done one important thing: They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more," concluded Oobleck.

"With all due respect Professor, Grimm that aren't mindless doesn't exactly fill me with great hope," she replied and frowned as the herd stopped moving and turned to look in their direction as if hearing her words.

"Indeed and you wouldn't be the only one but for now they are content to keep their distance and most want to keep it that way," he replied.

"Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" she asked.

"Waiting," answered Oobleck with a frown.

"For what?" mused Red as she looked back to the motionless herd with a sense of unease.

"No one knows and frankly that's probably for the best," commented Oobleck.

Call her paranoid but she could swear she felt the Grimm's eyes staring at her and a shiver ran down her spine. Finally the herd gave off a loud trumpeting sound from their trunks and then turned to continue on their previous course, still Red noted that they never stopped looking in the pair's direction as the passed by.

Oobleck turned and Red quickly followed, the two walking back to the others in silence, "well?" she asked.

The professor stopped and turned to face her with a confused expression, "well what Ruby?"

Red took a deep breath, "aren't you going to ask me about why I want to become a huntress?"

"Very well then Ruby, why do you want to be a huntress?" he quizzed with a thoughtful expression.

"I owed someone a debt that can never be repaid, becoming a huntress is what she wanted so it's the least I can do," answered Red.

"No that's not right, if that was the case then you wouldn't have protected team CRDL nor Yang or Jaune to the extent that you did. Now think harder Ruby and try again," lectured Oobleck.

They both stopped as Red turned to look at the ground and tried to figure out what to say, only to fail as Oobleck sighed in disappointment. "Shall I tell you what I see?" he asked.

"I see a girl who thinks she owes the world a debt she cannot pay. I see a girl who needs to understand that lives aren't currency. You can't buy a new one if it's lost but by the same token you don't owe anyone for living out your own," he said, gesturing for her to take a seat.

Taking the offered seat beside him Red remained silent as Oobleck continued, "lives cannot be reduced to mere numbers Ruby. One life holds no more value than another and both are equally precious. Each is unique and you cannot treat them like a math's equation, hoping that one will somehow balance out the other."

Red remained silent as she just eyed the ground, causing Oobleck to frown as he tried another method, "tell me Ruby do you enjoy being around your friends?"

She looked up in surprise, "of course I do!"

"So if one of them was in trouble you'd help them?" he pressed.

"Do you really need to ask that question?" replied Red heatedly.

"Why would you help them?" questioned the professor.

"Because they're my friends," she stated.

Oobleck nodded, "then why did you help Cardin and Yang? Neither were your friend and both had hurt you, so why did you help them?"

"Ruby would have done it," muttered Red quietly.

Unfortunately she wasn't quiet enough as Oobleck gave another sigh, "yes your predecessor would've given everything to save Yang but would she have lied to the Headmaster to protect someone like Cardin Winchester?"

Red blinked and frowned deep in thought, "that situation was…complicated, he wasn't as bad as I thought he was. Besides it just felt like the right thing to do."

For the first time a smile appeared on the professor's face, "tell me Ruby what is a hunter's most valuable tool?"

"Aura," she replied with certainty.

Oobleck shook his head, "while I can see why you would think that, aura is not the most powerful thing at our disposal."

"Dust?" frowned Red, her voice losing the certainty it once held.

"You're thinking too materialistic, what is it that allows us to stand together in times of hardship?" he asked.

Red was silent as she tried to come up with an answer before images began flashing through her mind; Cardin's sad face as he looked into the fire, star gazing with Jaune and Pyrrha, Penny's grateful smile as she hugged Red, laughing with the food covered RWBY and JNPR.

Looking up at the professor's questioning face she smiled, "empathy. That's the most important tools hunters have. It keeps us together and motivates us to get better, to protect others, to face the darkness so they don't have to."

Oobleck's smile widened as he stood up, "and that Ruby is the correct answer. Now come along the others must be getting worried at our lateness."

The two made their way back to the camp where the rest of team was waiting by the fire, "ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!" complimented Oobleck.

"Fire! So…warm," sighed Red as she sat down in front of it.

"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" asked the professor.

"Yo," said Red as she raised her hand.

Oobleck nodded and began setting up his sleeping bag while Red got up from the fire and headed to her post, only to be stopped by Yang halfway there. "Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?" she asked, drawing the attention of her two teammates.

Red just frowned as they all turned to look at her, "he didn't need to. He knew my reasoning better than I did myself. Anyway good night guys and don't worry no Grimm's coming anywhere near here while I'm on watch."

Red then headed to her lookout position and flared her aura, sending the nearby Grimm running before settling in from a long night when something caught her eye. High above them she could have sworn that she saw a humanoid figure watching them with red eyes and glowing tattoos. Red blinked and rubbed her eyes and the image was gone, frowning she kept her senses on high alert and began gripping Crescent Rose tighter until her shift ended. As she lay down on her sleeping bag Red couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

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><p><strong>What did Red see? Was it real or in her head? And what's happening with her aura? I wonder what the consequences of it will be...Anyway hope you all like the new chapter.<strong>


	32. Hear Me Roar

**Hey guys I'm ahead of schedule again so another chapter to celebrate. Also sad news Monty Oum is apparently hospitalized, give him and his family your best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery. **

**I don't own RWBY it belongs to Roosterteeth.**

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><p>Red yawned and stretched in a cat-like fashion as she got up from her sleeping bag, blinking as the sun's rays glinted of the metal structures surrounding them. Looking out at the ruins glowing in the morning light she felt a smile spread across her face, she didn't know why but this place just felt right to her. It was like finding a hidden playground as a kid, lots of nice high places to climb and hide in, where she could ambush her prey from above. Red blinked in confusion, 'where did that come from? What prey would I hunt? Grimm maybe?'<p>

Shaking the thoughts from her head she grabbed Crescent Rose and headed outside while the others got ready, flaring her aura once she was out of sight to make sure the area was safe. Keeping her scythe at the ready she pushed the remnants of the front door opened and searched the area for possible threats. Not seeing anything even remotely dangerous nearby she turned back to the door way when her eyes widened and she gripped her weapon tighter. There on the door were five jagged claw marks cut deep into the metal and they certainly weren't there when they went to sleep last night.

Instantly her body was on high alert as she spun around, her eyes peeled for danger when a blur of motion above her caught the reaper's attention. Glancing up she saw the same humanoid figure from before staring down at her. As the staring contest continued Red failed to notice the black outline surrounding her body as her hair and eyes began to change, signalling the involuntary activation of her Earth aura.

"Ruby I know you're impatient but at least wait for us to get out of the building," scolded Yang playfully from inside, snapping Red out of her trance as her aura outline faded.

Quickly returning her attention to the figure above them Red's eyes narrowed and a frown crossed her face, the figure was gone, vanished without a trace.

"Ruby? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," asked Yang as the rest of team RWBY plus Oobleck emerged from the ruined building.

In response Red just pointed at the door, causing them all to jump back as they stared at the carnage. Oobleck looked extremely worried as he examined the claw marks before getting his thermos out of his bag and turning to face them.

"We're leaving this area immediately. There is no chance that the White Fang are based in this particular area," he informed them as he turned and walked down the streets, caution evident in his every step.

Team RWBY just shared a look before running after him, surprised at the professor's sudden change in attitude. "Hold on Professor, what do you mean 'no chance?' What do those claw marks have to with it?" questioned Weiss.

"They were from a creature that we do not want taking an interest in us Miss Schnee. The staff had hoped that after all these years that it had moved on, it would seem we were wrong," answered Oobleck, his eyes darting from corner to corner.

"But how does that prove the White Fang aren't there?" she continued.

The professor opened his mouth to replay when Red beat him to it, "those were territorial marks Weiss, a warning."

Oobleck gave her a suspicious look before he nodded, "correct Ruby, it is good to see Peter's lessons are still as effective as ever."

"Peter's lessons? Oh right, yeah they're really interesting," she lied with a sheepish grin.

Oobleck's eyes narrowed but thankfully before he could interrogate Red on her new found knowledge Blake interrupted. "But I don't understand, how do territorial markings mean the White Fang aren't there?" she asked, getting nods from Yang and Weiss.

The professor sighed as he came to a stop and turned to face them, "you're misunderstanding me. Those markings don't mean that they were never there, they just mean it is useless to search there because either the White Fang never set up there or they did and aren't a problem anymore."

They were all silent as they digested his words, "is the creature really that dangerous?" said Weiss, a tremor in her voice.

"It managed to sneak up on a party of trained hunters, carve a marking into a metal door and get away without anyone of us knowing. It could have killed us last night, in fact most that cross into their territories die that night," replied Oobleck.

"Then why didn't it?" asked Red.

"I don't know, maybe it had a bigger threat to deal with and simply didn't believe we were worth the effort or…" the professor's voice trailed off as a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"Or what professor?" replied Red.

He just turned to look her in the eye, "or perhaps something happened last night that made it weary of approaching us."

Red swallowed loudly as Oobleck's eyes bore into her's, 'does he know? No I made sure no one was around when I used it.' She continued squirming under his gaze until Yang walked between them, blocking her from his view.

"So what's the plan then?" she said, snapping them both back to the present.

"We get as far away from here as we can before continuing our search, hopefully we can leave its territory before it comes back for us," he ordered, getting nods from everyone present.

* * *

><p>It watched as the newborn and the prey left the building, making sure to keep itself hidden as they walked off. The newborn was arrogant, she dared to try and claim its territory as her own, to claim its favourite hunting grounds. As it watched the party walk off it became confused, why was the newborn walking with the prey? It didn't like confusion, confusion meant unknowns and unknowns could cost it the hunt. Suddenly images began flashing through its head; walking with the prey, laughing with the prey, playing with the prey. It growled as a strange feeling came over it as it stared at the newborn, while it couldn't recognize the feeling any person would know it as envy.<p>

Perhaps the newborn was part of a larger pack that was encroaching on its territory, that's why it had boldly claimed part of its territory. This left only one option, it had to stop the newborn before it alerted the rest of its pack. Following the party it noted that they were heading to where the large number of prey had gathered and were nearing the edge of its territory. This could not be allowed, the newborn would not leave its territory alive.

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><p>'Something's not right here,' thought Red as she matched pace with Oobleck, keeping a hand on Crescent Rose. Every single instinct was warning her that something was wrong but no matter how hard she tried Red couldn't spot anything. <strong>Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Instincts have never been wrong yet, why doubt them now?<strong> She frowned but found that she couldn't deny the logic behind that choice.

"Professor, I think we're being watched," she announced, causing the professor to frown.

"Is it the creature?" he asked, not even questioning her judgment.

Red shook her head, "I don't know, I can't tell. It could be the creature or it could be just a random Grimm," she replied.

Oobleck sighed, "we're nearly out of its territory, just keep an eye on it Ruby."

Red nodded and kept trying to spot their hidden observer but to no avail, causing her to growl in frustration. However her growl quickly turned into a coughing fit as Yang rubbed her back and gave Red a concerned look. The reaper just waved it off and her eyes narrowed as they approached the town square. The space was wide open with high buildings all around it that overlooked the square and hid anything from sight. **Perfect to ambush prey.**

Eyes widening Red rushed towards Oobleck just as the professor walked into the open. Red called out to him as she saw a shadow appear above the professor. Realizing what was about to happen she tried to use her Semblance only for it to cut out, sending the reaper careening into Oobleck and the two skidded across the pavement just as the shadow descended to the ground where he had been moments before.

Red and Oobleck quickly scrambled to their feet and joined the rest of team RWBY as the examined the humanoid figure before them. It was relatively small for a Grimm, reaching just higher than most people. But it was covered in interlocking bone armour, leaving only its joints and the bottom half of its face visible and its large claws and teeth certainly weren't there for show. What sent alarm bells ringing however was the black smoky outline that surrounded it and the familiar red glowing markings that covered the armour and mask.

"_No sir, I don't even remember seeing it in the first place. Why? What is it? I mean it looks like a Grimm mask maybe I saw it when I was fighting them or something?" she replied curiously._

"_No you definitely didn't seen it while fighting Grimm," stated the teacher with a shake of his head._

"_How can you be so sure?" asked a frowning Red._

"_Because you'd be dead," answered the teacher coldly._

Running her fingers along her own bandaged arms she flinch, remembering what lay beneath those bandages. The creature ignored the rest of the party and kept its gaze focused solely on Red before giving a low threatening growl as it approached. Red felt her heart beginning to pound faster and her legs trembling as it came closer, letting her see the disturbingly human like bottom half of its face. She had to run, she had to flee, she had to **stand her ground! Do not show any weakness!**

Instantly Red's pupils narrowed to cat-like slits as she was surrounded in the same smoky black outline as the creature, causing everyone to stare at her as she gave a low animalistic growl. Her eyes began glowing red and her hair grew before turning the same black as her aura, they all watched as her tattoos began glowing visibly under her bandages and started growing up her arm. The humanoid Grimm stopped in its tracks and gave Red a weary look as it released its own beast-like snarl. **It's testing me, show it my real strength! **

Red felt something building up in gut and rumbling as it made its way up her throat, begging for a release. She took a deep breath and released it, instantly every living thing present heard a loud roar echo across the ruins. The rest of the party just turned to look at Red in shock as she release another bellow, causing the creature to back up slightly. Seeing this Oobleck's eyes widened as he walked forward and leaned towards her ear.

"Ruby call for help," whispered the professor.

Red frowned, how was she supposed to call for help when she couldn't even get her scroll out? Plus what good would it do them? They'd be dead long before reinforcements got here. **But it doesn't know that.** It wouldn't understand what she was doing though. **So do it in a way that it would.** Suddenly her brain clicked as she figured out what Oobleck meant. Taking a deep breath she released an inhuman cry, sounding like a cross between a cough and a screech. The humanoid Grimm backed away slightly before glancing around in a panic, obviously now looking for threats. Seeing it was working Red released another call, this one much louder than the previous.

The creature just stared at them, weighing the pros and cons of staying before it gave a long growl of frustration and leapt onto the roof of a nearby building and disappeared. The party was silent as they wearily watched it go and didn't stow their weapons until it was long gone. They all breathed a sigh of relief and turned to congratulate Red when the reaper suddenly felt pain erupting throughout her body.

"Ruby!" cried Yang as she watched her sister collapse to the ground.

They all rushed over to the collapsed reaper, "Yang? Is that you? I can't see very well," asked Red, coughing up blood.

"Yeah it's me Ruby, you're going to be okay," reassured the blonde.

"You're a terrible liar sis," grinned Red and her eyelids closed as drowsiness overwhelmed her.

"We have to get her somewhere safe, quickly!" came Oobleck's faint voice before she dropped into the void of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>The group of hunters had carefully dragged Ruby to a nearby building and immediately Oobleck had waste no time getting out his emergency medical kit. Yang glanced to look at her sister's unconscious form in worry, noting that her hair and tattoos had yet to return to normal, before returning her attention back to Oobleck who was treating Ruby's condition.<p>

"What wrong with her?" she asked as he stood up.

Oobleck's face turned sombre as he walked over to the rest of team RWBY, "she's dying," he concluded sadly.

They all froze and stared at the professor in shock, waiting for him to tell them it was all a joke. But seeing his expression remain unchanged they all felt the cold weight of his words hit home as reality set in. Yang walked up to him and grabbed Oobleck by the collar, her eyes now a fierce red as they bore into his.

"What do you mean dying? She wasn't even injured!" screamed the blonde.

"Yang calm down! You're only putting Ruby in more danger at this rate!" cried Blake, yanking the brawler off him.

Yang sighed and took a deep breath as her eyes returned to their normal lilac colour before she knelt down beside her sister's pale form. "What's wrong with her?" she said, looking up at the professor.

"Her body's haemorrhaging from most of her internal organs and the ones that aren't appear to be malfunctioning, it's like her entire body is going into shut down. I've never seen anything like it before," he informed them, causing all the conscious members of team RWBY to exchange looks of understanding.

"We might know what's causing it," replied Weiss, drawing an amazed look from Oobleck.

"What do you mean Miss Schnee?" asked the professor.

Weiss just shared a look with her teammates who nodded in return before holding her scroll out to him. "A while back we broke into an Earth organization's compound and downloaded everything they knew on Earth aura," she answered, causing Oobleck's eyes to widen.

"While we were there we found out about the dangers of Earth aura. There are five stages of aura development and the more they use it the greater the danger becomes. When we found out we made her promise to never use it again, it appears she didn't listen," concluded the heiress.

"What dangers are you talking about Miss Schnee?" interrogated Oobleck as he grabbed her scroll before flicking through it.

Yang got up from Ruby's body and answered for the heiress, "Earth aura kills its host. At stage four most bodies die from the effects of it by internal bleeding before shutting down entirely."

The professor's eyes narrowed as his brain digested this new information, "stage five is if she survives, isn't it?" he asked in a quiet voice.

The blonde nodded and began sobbing quietly, unable to respond. Seeing this Blake walked forward and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before turning back to Oobleck.

"Stage five is when she loses her humanity and becomes little more than a violent monster, killing anything that gets in her way. They called this state, Feral," replied the Faunus.

Oobleck was silent as he stared at the scroll in his hand and a frustrated look crossed his face, "and none of you thought to turn this data over to the staff!" he shouted.

The three members of RWBY backed away slightly at his raised voice, realizing that this was the first time they'd ever heard him shout. The professor in question just sighed as he rubbed his temples and returned to skimming through the scroll's data.

The huntresses in training shared a guilty look before Yang spoke up, "we were scared of what you'd do to Ruby if you knew."

"Putting aside your obvious lack of trust in your teachers, all of Beacon's faculty already knew about this 'Feral' situation Yang," he informed them, causing their jaws to drop.

"But we had no idea how it worked, all we assumed was that their aura was very hard to control. If we had known we would have stopped her practise sessions immediately before placing her in a medical facility, however this does explain how she has lived this long," he concluded.

"What are you talking about? She's unconscious and dying at our feet!" exclaimed Yang.

Oobleck glanced up from the scroll, "indeed and it's a miracle she has lasted this long. Tell me do any of you remember her using her aura or Semblance even once since we arrived?" he asked.

They all paused before shaking their heads, "I thought so, what's left of her Remnant aura is trying to heal the damage caused by her Earth one and so isn't able to function normally. That's what's been keeping her alive up to this point, each aura has been counteracting the other" informed the professor.

"Then why isn't it working? Why isn't it healing her?" raged the brawler.

"I don't know," admitted Oobleck with a frown. "But Ruby had been sneaking out to practice using her Earth aura and the Headmaster reported that her Earth aura has been shutting down her Remnant one. It's possible this has been accelerating the damage to the point where her Remnant aura could no longer effectively heal it."

"From there it became a snowball effect, getting worse and worse the more she used it. This would explain her behaviour, tattoos and her inability to use her Semblance," he concluded.

Seeing the team's sad expression Oobleck gave them a reassuring smile, "don't grieve just yet. Once we get this data in for proper analysis we may yet find a way to save her. With this data and our own observations I am sure that we can stop this."

Shutting down Weiss' scroll and placing it in his backpack the professor turned to face the rest of the team, "this mission is being aborted until further notice. I will signal for an emergency pickup and get Ruby to the nearest medical facility."

They all nodded and turned to leave when Yang's eyes widened and she rushed past them to where Ruby had been left, only to find Crescent Rose wrapped in Ruby's red cloak. Yang picked up the cloak wrapped scythe with shaky hands before standing up and rushing to the doorway, unfortunately her sister was long gone.

"What happened? Why'd she leave?" questioned a fearful Yang.

"You don't think she overheard us talking, do you?" replied Weiss, causing them all to flinch.

"This is not good, we have to find her quickly there's no telling how much time she's got left," stated Oobleck as he began rummaging through his pack.

"Ruby? Ruby?!" called the blonde in a panic as she rushed out of the building, only to be grabbed and slapped by Blake.

Rounding on the Faunus with red eyes, she met Blake's own furious gaze. "Yang you need to calm down! Running around like a headless Nevermore won't get us anywhere."

If looks could kill Blake would be dead on the floor from the glare Yang sent her, "if you think I'm just going to sit here and do nothing while Ruby's out there-"

"I didn't say that!" shot back Blake. "We need to think things through before we start searching, she can't have gone far."

"Blake is right we don't have the luxury to lose our heads now Yang. All of you follow me, we are going to save your teammate," ordered Oobleck as his thermos mechshifted into a mace.

* * *

><p><strong>Sneak peak at next chapter: Borrowed Time<strong>

"You know what Roman? Maybe you're right, maybe that me from the tower is my true nature," Red informed him, causing the crook to turn to look at her.

Roman took a couple of step backwards as she opened her eyes to reveal them glowing a baleful red, "**because right now all I can think about, is how I'm going to tear you limb from bloody limb."**

* * *

><p><strong>You didn't think I had Port mention Mount Glen for nothing did you? Hope you enjoyed the sneak peak at the next chapter. Anyway hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and don't worry the next one is nearly done, it should be up in a couple of days a week at the most.<strong>


	33. Borrowed Time

**I'm sure you all know by now but Monty has passed away due to an allergy induced coma. However he lives on through his work so hopefully they will continue RWBY.**

**I don't own RWBY it now and always will be Monty's.**

* * *

><p>Red felt herself beginning to come back to the present as her vision was flooded with sunlight and groggily forced her body into a sitting position. Looking around she spotted the others all standing together, Yang even seemed to be crying. 'What's going on?' she thought and was about to get up when Yang spoke.<p>

"Earth aura kills its host. At stage four most bodies die from the effects of it by internal bleeding before shutting down entirely," sobbed the blonde.

Red's eyes widened and had to hold in a cough as another series of pain wracked her body, noting the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. Struggling to her feet she forced herself to stand and leaned against the wall, attempting to listen in on their conversation.

Oobleck was silent for a moment before he spoke up, "stage five is if she survives, isn't it?"

Yang nodded but couldn't respond, leaving Red confused as to why this was a bad thing. 'Shouldn't she be happy that I might not die?' she wondered as Blake approached the professor.

"Stage five is when she loses her humanity and becomes little more than a violent monster, killing anything that gets in her way. They call this state Feral," explained the Faunus.

Red froze at what she had just heard before she caught sight of her reflection in the broken glass, her eyes were still cat-like and her hair was still black. But what caused her to pause was the tattoos along her arm had grown, nearly reaching her shoulders. Her mind began flashing back to her argument with Leah, what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"_You have no idea what kind of powers you are toying with," growled the captain._

_Red just scoffed in amusement and the fight continued until she knocked her opponent to the ground. "You said I don't what kind of powers I'm using, but I know full well. Aura is a tool, it is there to help us, to protect us. What's there to understand?"_

_Leah just gave her a hate filled glare, causing Red to back away slightly as the captain rose to her feet. "You think aura is there to protect us? You stupid, naïve little girl!"_

Holding in another cough Red just collapsed back on to her makeshift bed and removed both her cloak and scythe and placed them on the bed in front of her. 'I'm not letting the others get hurt because of me," she decided. Wrapping the scythe in the cloak she gave them a longing look and sighed, 'they weren't mine to begin with, I don't have the right to take them.'

Giving her former teammates one last look, Red gave a sad smile before sprinting out of the ruined building as fast as her failing body would let her. "Good bye guys, we had fun and I would have like to stay longer. Maybe the next time around," she whispered as her vision grew blurry again.

* * *

><p>"Professor how do you know that Ruby's this way?" questioned a skeptical Weiss.<p>

"Because Miss Schnee, Ruby's scroll is still transmitting a weak signal," replied Oobleck, glancing up from his own device.

"But wouldn't the buildings get in the way?" asked Blake.

"Yes which is why her signal keeps dropping out. Thankfully wherever Ruby is she is up high so the interference is being kept to a minimum," replied the professor before he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Barely stopping herself in time Yang glared at Oobleck but dropped her look as she saw the worried expression on the professor's face. "Professor? What's wrong?" asked the brawler.

"Her signal's disappeared entirely. Which means either it can't get any signal at all or the scroll has been destroyed," he informed them.

"What now?" cried Yang desperately.

"We'll head to her last known location and search the area she can't have gotten very far with that amount of damage," he ordered them.

The reminder of team RWBY nodded and followed the professor until they reached a large metal door hidden in one of the buildings.

"Well looks like we found the White Fang," commented Blake soberly.

"Indeed the question now is, did Ruby find them or did they find Ruby?" replied the professor.

Growling in frustration Yang slammed her aura infused fist into the doors repeatedly, only to give up when it didn't so much as bend under her assault. "Yang these doors are designed to keep out a horde of Grimm, nothing short of high explosives is getting that open," said Oobleck.

"Ruby's in there, we have to do something," stated Weiss.

"Indeed, we will spread out and search for an alternate way in. If any of you see anything call out, understood?" he asked, getting nods in return as they all spread out.

It didn't take them long to find something and they all gathered around a large hole leading in the pavement. "Do you think this leads into their base," asked Weiss.

Oobleck's eyes widened at her suggestion before him began pacing, "oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE! How could I be so stupid?!" he berated.

"Professor Oobleck what are you talking about?!" demanded Yang, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves! My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" he announced to their shock.

"They've been working in caves?" scoffed Blake.

"No no, Mountain Glen had a unique underground metro system that allowed safe transport between the settlement and the city. As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface!" replied Oobleck as he took out some rope from his backpack.

"An underground village?" exclaimed Yang.

The professor nodded, "in a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb."

Tying the rope to the nearby wreckage Oobleck threw it down the hole before climbing down into the abyss, the rest of RWBY just glanced at each other and followed him down. As they reached the bottom all four heard the familiar sound of gunfire echoing from the nearby chamber, wasting no time they headed straight for it.

* * *

><p>Running around the ruins with failing body was not a fun experience as Red was finding out, 'still at least the view is as beautiful as ever, there are definitely worst things to die in front of.' After running around for what seemed like hours but in reality was probably only a few minutes she had climbed to the top of the buildings and looked out over the concrete jungle below.<p>

"Come on hurry up! I don't want to be out here any longer than necessary," came an angry voice, causing Red to jump up.

Looking down at the streets below her Red frowned as she saw two Faunus walking along the ruined road, each bearing a familiar logo on their backs. 'White Fang? Now of all the times!' groaned Red as she watched them go.

"No rest for the wicked I guess," muttered Red with a sigh as she followed them, ignoring the pain flaring though out her body.

Red hopped from building to building, using her newly enhanced vision to tail the two White Fang members and frowned as she saw them heading into an abandoned building with two metal doors blocking the door way. 'Please Semblance work this time,' begged Red as she rushed the closing door. At first it seemed to be working as the buildings began to blur before her Semblance cut out mid stride, sending her crashing into the building wall as the doors slide shut. Cursing she tried to find another way in when she felt the ground begin cracking beneath her feet.

Realizing what was about to happen she tried to flee but wasn't fast enough and fell through the pavement into the caverns below. Red screamed as she fell, memories of Laura's death flashing through her mind. Having no option left she tried to flare her aura, praying that it actually worked this time as the ground came rushing up to meet her. As Red impacted the ground she felt even more pain erupt through her body as her vision blurred again.

"Holy shit that's Roman's old agent! What's she doing here?" exclaimed a voice as two blurred objects approached her.

"Come on let's take her to the boss," ordered another and Red felt two sets of hands restrain her before dragging her off.

As her vision started to return Red saw multiple Atlesian Paladins loading crates on to train carts as well as numerous other devices that didn't look friendly. She felt everyone turn to look at her as they made their way through the camp, some with looks of confusion and other's with recognition. Eventually they stopped before one of the train carts.

"Hey boss! Found something you might want to see!" called one of her captors.

"Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day," called a familiar voice.

"It's an old friend," answered Red with a smile.

Roman stuck his head out of the cart and removed the cigar from his mouth, "that would be bad."

"So how'd you find this place, Red?" he asked, walking out of his cart.

"A little birdie told me," she replied, much to his chagrin.

The criminal turned to the one called Perry, "recall all patrols, double the security and prepare the carts for transport. She wouldn't have come alone."

Perry nodded and rushed away to spread the word as the carts were attached to the train and the Paladins were stored. Facing Red again he gave her a calculating look, taking in her eye and hair changes as he frowned.

"You know Red you were much scarier when I first meet you. When I saw you that night on the docks I saw a fierce determination to get what you wanted and destroy anyone who tried to get in your way," mused Roman as he stood in front of her.

"But now all I see is fear. Where are your killing instincts? Where is the Red that I met that first time? Who is this weak person in front of me?" he continued, causing her to flinch at his accusation.

"I'm not weak! And I'm not scared of you!" she shouted at him.

Roman nodded, "indeed you're not afraid of me. So, what are you scared of Red? Is it of killing? Or…is it the tower incident?"

The criminal smiled as Red flinched again, "well looks like I hit the nail on the head. Tell me how do you know that other personality from the tower isn't the real you? The one you keep locked up and hidden from the rest of the world? You can't tell me you don't enjoy hunting Grimm, is it really that much different from hunting people?"

"I'm a hunter so that I can save lives Roman, not take them," she replied, trying to ignore the quiver in her own voice.

"And that childish desire is going to get you or someone close to you killed some day Red. Believe me, you ether die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain," informed Roman with a frown.

Red got up from the ground and just threw an aura infused punch into the crook with a roar of anger, Roman didn't even try dodging or blocking and just let it hit him in the chest. He then sighed in disappointment and threw a return punch into her face, sending her sprawling across the floor.

"Don't you realize it? You're so scared that you're subconsciously holding back on your blows, you could hit me all day and it wouldn't do anything. You were ruthless once Red, you were a survivor. But now you're just some child playing at being a hero, you could have been so much more," he sighed as he walked away from her.

"If you truly want to beat me then cast aside these fears and embrace your true nature Red. Show me the power that has my colleagues so concerned. Show me the beast inside. Show me the real you," ordered Roman.

Red shook her head as memories of fighting in the tower sprang into her mind, the almost childish joy as she tried to kill her opponent, to rip her apart limb by limb. Next the image of the Grimm she saw appeared, the familiar runic tattoos running alone its body. **He's right she needed more power, she needed to stop him. She owed it to Yang and the others.** _You can't buy a new one if it's lost but by the same token you don't owe anyone for living out your own_.

Blinking as Oobleck's words echoed across her mind, she climbed to her feet and stared at Roman with a determined expression. The criminal frowned as he took a couple of steps back and the surrounding White Fang grunts leveled their weapons at her as she doubled over and vomited up blood.

"I'm living on borrowed time as it is Roman, do you really think I'm going to spend my last few moments in this world as a mindless beast?" she growled as her cat-like eyes narrowed on him.

"Well then I guess you don't really care about your friends after all," baited the criminal.

"What do you mean?" asked Red.

Roman just smiled and held up a scroll showing the remainder of team RWBY and Oobleck attempting to break down the outside security door. "Wouldn't it be a shame if one of the bombs went off while they were trying to rescue you? If the blast didn't kill them then the Grimm certainly would," he mused.

"You're treading on thin ice Roman. Leave them out of this," she warned with a low growl.

"Well Red that all depends on you. Can you bring yourself to stop me? Can you sacrifice your humanity? No you're too scared to even take that chance. You're weak," he replied before turning to another White Fang grunt.

"Tie her up and place her in one of the train carts, our employers may still have a use for her," he ordered the grunt.

Red's mind raced as she felt hands restrain her again. **He was threatening her pack**! He was threatening her friends!** H**e** n**e**e**d**e**d **t**o **p**a**y**! A familiar feeling of bones morphing occurred throughout her body as a black glow surrounded Red and the sensation of burning spread from her arms to her face.

"You know what Roman? Maybe you're right, maybe that me from the tower is my true nature," Red informed him, causing the crook to turn to look at her.

Roman took a couple of step backwards as she opened her eyes to reveal them glowing a baleful red, "**because right now all I can think about, is how I'm going to tear you limb from bloody limb."**

* * *

><p>Roman and his posse took a couple of steps back as Red climbed to her feet, all their instincts screaming at them to run and yet refusing to move. They all watched as she was wreathed in a smoky black aura with small spots of red and flinched as they heard the sickening sound of bones shifting and changing. Suddenly their vision was cut off as the aura exploded outwards, throwing up dust and knocking most of his guards off their feet. As the dust cleared and Roman got his first look at Red, he had a sinking feeling that he might have bitten off more than he could chew this time around.<p>

He took note of her new fang-like canines as well as her eyes now glowing a faint red along with some form of tattoos that certainly hadn't been there before and branched down from her face to her bandaged arms. When his gaze reached Red's arms the criminal's eyes widened, not only did she now have claws that made a Beowolf's look like butter knifes but along her arm was white-bone like armour covered in runic patterns, and it was _growing_. At first he though his eyes were playing tricks on him but sure enough not only did the armour bear an eerie resemblance to Grimm bone plates but he saw it growing steadily up her arms.

"What's going on here?!" he exclaimed as he gripped his cane tighter.

"**There are things in this world that are far more terrifying than Grimm, Roman,**" replied Red in a voice that sounded like two people speaking at once.

Roman backed up and a shiver ran down his spin as she gave him a toothy grin, the light glinting off her sharp canines. "**And now I'm one of them."**

One of his White Fang guards chose this moment to attack as he fired his weapon into Red, but she had already moved out of the way and the rounds merely pinged harmlessly off the nearby train cart. The rest of the White Fang as well as Roman himself opened fire on their opponent but she dodged every round, displaying an almost supernatural sense of precognition. In fact to Roman's eyes it almost seemed like she knew where they were going to fire next before they'd even moved their guns.

"Damn it where's Neo and that bloody Bull!" he muttered as one of the grunts collapsed with a nasty gash across his chest and the rest took a couple of fearful steps backwards.

"Somebody kill her!" he screamed in frustration as numerous grunts began falling to the ground, while Red giggled gleefully.

The rest of the White Fang just looked at each other and did what any normal person would do when faced with something it was taking them out with an almost childish ease, they ran. Roman suddenly found himself all alone against Red and instantly the idea of running began to sound very good after all as she turned to face him.

"**Come on Roman don't lose your nerve now, after all you wanted me to get serious. What's the matter? Didn't your mother ever teach you to be careful what you wish for?**" grinned Red as she walked over to him.

The criminal felt a drop of sweat run down his back before clamping down on it as he reached into his pocket and threw the dust crystal at Red's feet and fired his cane, creating a large explosion that engulfed the reaper. Roman sighed as he lowered his cane, he never liked using his emergency dust supply on jobs but the situation had called for it.

"**Really Roman? The same trick you used on Ruby? How disappointingly predictable,**" whispered a voice in his left ear.

Spinning around with wide eyes the criminal wasted no time as he sent his cane in a fast sweep towards her head, only for it to be blocked by Red's bone gauntlets with a loud clang. A triumphant smirk appeared on her face as she grabbed Melodic Cludgel and ripped it out of Roman's hands, causing him to stumble and look at her in surprise, obviously not expecting this level of strength.

"**You lose Roman Torchwick,**" she announced and Roman could only watch as she gripped his beloved cane in both her hands and her runes began to glow harshly before a metallic shriek filled the cavern.

Realizing she was right Roman turned to run away and get help, only to feel something slam into the back on his head and send him crashing to the ground. Groaning he saw the bent remains of his cane laying broken on the ground next to him and cried out in pain as he was kicked back to the ground. Red looked down at the helpless crook beneath her feet with contempt, noting how easy it would be to kill him right now.

**A single bite or scratch to jugular and the threat is removed. She could just blame it on the Grimm, after all if the Grimm got to him first then that's just a tragedy but hardly her fault. **No she couldn't do that! She had to take him in, find out what he knows before standing trial for his crimes. **There is more than one way to get the answers required, besides what rights does this criminal scum have left. **He is still a person! **He is prey, nothing more.**_ One life holds no more value than another and both are equally precious._** Lies for the weak! Beacons for the deluded.**

Staring down at the struggling criminal at her feet as her inner conflict raged on, she felt pain wrack her body again as she stated coughing, blood dripping out of her mouth. Hearing something approaching the two of them with her enhanced senses she forced the pain to the back of her mind and turned look at this new threat, ignoring the crook squirming beneath her feet. She expected to see more White Fang grunts or maybe even a horde of Grimm charging them, she wasn't expecting an explosion followed by familiar group of people to come running around the corner.

"Ruby!" cried Yang before skidding to a stop at the sight of her, an expression of horror on her face.

Seeing her sister's expression Red felt shame fill her as she turned back to look at Roman. 'What am I doing? This isn't right!' she realized as her bone armour stopped growing. **No! He's a threat to the pack, he needs to be dealt with!** And he has been! He can't do anything now. **Kill him! He is prey and you are the hunter. FINISH HIM! **

"**Shut up! And get o**ut of my head!" screamed Red as the bone armour cracked and disintegrated and her body began to return to normal, leaving only her eyes, hair and tattoos remaining.

The minute she deactivated her aura an incredible pain erupt throughout her body and Red collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood. Realizing that he was now free Roman instantly jumped to his feet and sprinted on to the train as it began moving down the tracks, leaving team RWBY and Oobleck to watch it go. Red struggled to her feet, using Yang as support and turned to face Oobleck.

"Professor we have to stop that train."

* * *

><p><strong>There we go another chapter done and dusted. Well we're reaching the end of volume 2 so I wanted to inform you of my decision. Due to Monty's passing it isn't known whether or not RWBY will be continued and while I have a few OC arcs planned for after volume 2 they were just there to fill the gap until Volume 3 came out. If RWBY isn't continued I'll finish the OC arcs and then might put this story up for adoption or just continue it myself depending on how confident I feel.<strong>


	34. A Railroad of Fun

**Hey guys welcome back, this chapter was very fun to write and I hop you enjoy it. But the update rate will start slowing down as I've also got to work on my other fic now. This will remain my main focus though.**

**I don't own RWBY or we would see more mechs.**

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><p>"Professor we have to stop that train," she coughed out.<p>

"Ruby the only thing we're going to do is get you to a hospital," replied a glaring Oobleck.

"You don't understand, we need to stop him!" she shouted, pushing off Yang to look at the angry professor in the eye.

"No you don't understand! This fight is not worth risking your life over Ruby!" he snapped, causing her to flinch.

"Yes Roman will get away but he has nowhere to run to, those tunnels are completely sealed. Our top priority is getting you to safety," ordered Oobleck.

"He has bombs on that train!" yelled Red, making everyone freeze as they looked at her. "Do you really think it's a good idea to let him go now?"

Oobleck watched the departing train with a conflicted expression, "you are sure those were bombs?" he asked, fearfully.

Red nodded and the professor just sighed as he turned to the rest of team RWBY, "we have no choice, Ruby is right we need to stop that train."

"What?! But Ruby can barely stand upright!" argued Yang.

"Yang don't worry I've lasted this long, I can last a bit longer," reassured Red.

Blake just frowned as the train disappeared down one of the tunnels, "how are we going to catch up?"

"I think I've found a way," commented their white haired teammate.

They all turned to see Weiss standing by a red coloured Paladin, "think they'll mind if we borrow one of their mechs?" she asked with Red's trademarked grin on her face.

"Weiss you've been hanging around me too long," laughed Red.

"I'll pilot it, the rest of you climb on board and hold on tight," said Oobleck as he entered the cockpit.

* * *

><p><strong>Shipping up to Boston- Dropkick Murphys <strong>

Roman sighed leaned back into his chair in the control room, trying to relax after his near debacle with Red. 'I guess now I know why Cinder was so beaten up,' he thought as his hand subconsciously grasped for his non-existing cane. At least he had left them far behind now, Cinder would have had his head if he jeopardized the mission for his own curiosity.

"Ah boss we might have a problem," said Perry.

"Of course we do, can nothing go right today?" growled the crook as he got up from his chair. "Well? What is it?"

Perry just blinked as he stared at his monitor in confusion before turning to face Roman, "sensors are showing something rapidly approaching us from behind."

"What?! But we haven't set off any bombs yet! The tunnels should be clear!" he exclaimed in anger as he stared at the monitor.

Sure enough a blinking dot was rapidly approaching the rear of the train at a frightening pace, 'no Grimm can move that fast,' he realized. An uneasy feeling began growing as he flipped on the train's rear view cameras, to be greeted with the sight of a familiar Paladin and an even more familiar group of girls rapidly closing the distance.

"Did they just steal a Paladin?" gasped one of the train operators.

"Yeah they took the red one," answered another.

"Hey boss wasn't that one your personal Paladin?" asked Perry.

"Yes, yes it was," replied Roman through gritted teeth.

They all watched as the Paladin closed in until they could clearly make out the features of the girls riding it. The white one pointed at the camera and Red turned to smile and wave at it before she took out her weapon and pointed it at the camera, there was a flash of light and the screen turned to static. Silence filled the control room until they all heard three loud thuds, suddenly one of the monitors began flashing red.

"Boss they've detached the first two train carts and I can't raise anyone in the third!" informed Perry.

Growling Roman grabbed the train's intercom, "we have boarders everyone get topside and take care of them, use everything available to take them out."

He didn't hold much hope of them actually succeeding but all they needed to do was buy them time until they reached their destination. Besides even if they got through the grunts they still had to get past those two.

"Increase the speed to as fast as we can go," he ordered before sitting back down in his chair. "Your move Red."

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><p>"Alright Yang, Blake and Miss Schnee you three will board the train and make your way to the control room. I shall keep the majority of them busy," came Oobleck's voice over the rush of wind as they approached the train.<p>

"What about me?" asked Ruby.

"You will stay close to me and provide long range support, you're too injured to do anything else," ordered the professor.

Ruby looked annoyed at her support role but nodded her head as she shifted Crescent Rose into its gun mode. As the mech reached one of the carts Yang and her two teammates leapt off the Paladin and onto the train, giving her sister one last wave they all opened the hatch and jumped down into the bowels of the train.

"Come on let's get to the control room," ordered Yang as they ran through the numerous carts, only to stop as the reached a former passenger cart.

There waiting for them was the parasol wielding illusionist Neo with an eager smile on her face, "you guys go on ahead, she's mine," said Yang.

Blake and Weiss nodded and ran on ahead while Neo and Yang just faced each other, "you know I never paid you back for what you did on the highway," growled the blonde with red eyes.

"I feel the same way. You and your friend caused me no end of trouble," replied the illusionist.

"Time for some payback," grinned Yang as her hair began glowing.

"For who? There's no blue boy to protect you this time," smirked Neo.

"Who says I need him?" stated the brawler as Ember Celica deployed along her arm.

"Oh this is going to be fun," laughed Neo as Yang charged.

Waiting until the blonde got close the illusionist then thrust her parasol into Yang's gut before smashing the weapon over the brawler's head. Yang staggered briefly from the blow and instantly the temperature in the cart rose as the blonde glared at Neo. Smashing her fists together Yang released a shockwave of heat and energy, causing Neo's eyes to widen as she used her open parasol as a shield. Taking advantage of her opponent's current bind spot Yang charged the illusionist, only for the image to shatter into pieces at her touch. Growling in frustration the brawler spun around in search of her opponent but all she could see was the growing flames from her shockwave spreading around the cart.

"Where are you?" muttered Yang before a grin spread on her face as an idea came to her head.

Walking to the middle of the cart she was wreathed in the yellow glow of her aura before slamming her fist together again. Instantly another shockwave formed, this larger and faster than any she'd made before as her aura boosted it. Yang's grin widened as the shockwave spread outwards and the sound of shattering glass was heard from behind her, spinning around showed Neo getting up from the floor.

"Illusions aren't going to help you this time," said Yang, smugly as she approached her.

"Who says I need them?" growled Neo as she withdrew her sword from the parasol.

"Oh this _is_ going to be fun," grinned Yang as flames began licking her body.

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><p>Blake glanced nervously behind them as the door slid shut, "don't worry that brute is far too strong to go down to someone like her," reassured Weiss.<p>

Blake nodded and the two continued onwards until they reached the final cart before the control room, only to stop at the sight that greeted them.

"Here, this should help you," informed the heiress as she handed her teammate a magazine which Blake loaded into Gambol Shroud, neither taking their eyes of their opponent.

"Ready for round two Blake?" asked Adam as he glanced at the two of them.

"Step aside Adam," ordered Blake.

"Not going to happen Blake," he replied.

"Weiss I'll take care of him, you stop the train," said the Cat Faunus.

Her teammate nodded and rushed towards the door only to skid to a stop as Adam appeared in front of it, "now what kind of White Fang member would pass up on the chance to kill a Schnee?" stated the Bull Faunus.

The two members of team RWBY glanced at each other before they began circling the terrorist, Adam just gripped his weapons tighter. Weiss lunged towards him with Myrtenaster, using her glyphs to propel herself forward at an incredible speed. The Bull just sighed as he leaned backwards and the heiress was passed right by him. His bored expression still on his face Adam kneed Weiss in the gut as she passed, causing her to collapse unto the ground.

"Not bad but not nearly as fast as Red," commented the terrorist.

He then sprinted for the downed heiress with his sword drawn, only to be stopped as a crescent wave of bright purple energy to hit him dead centre, sending Adam flying into the wall. Not giving him time to recover Blake placed her sword and sheath together before swinging downwards, sending another crescent wave towards him. Snapping back to his senses Adam quickly absorbed the blow with Wilt before sheathing the sword, his body beginning to glow red. A grin spread across his face as ran at his former partner, causing Blake's eyes to widen as he unsheathed his sword with a red flash. His grin faded however as instead of Blake's body he saw a bisected earth clone disintegrating in front of him, 'she's picked up some new tricks.'

"Don't forget about me!" shouted Weiss who began launching fireballs at him.

Adam growled in frustration as he was forced to dodge the oncoming fireball barrage before charging at the heiress, only to be stopped by Blake who appeared behind him and slashed the terrorist across his back. The two members of RWBY continued their combined assault on him as Weiss stabbed her rapier into the ground and created pillars of ice spikes that rapidly approached the Bull Faunus. Leaping into the air to dodge them Adam soon found himself caught by Blake's ribbon as it wrapped around his legs. The Cat Faunus then used this to slam him into the ground and Adam's vision blurred for a couple of seconds as he felt himself being lifted into the air for another slam. Snarling he used Wilt to cut the ribbon tied around his legs and began firing on the pair with Blush, using the rifle's recoil to gain some distance from the duo.

'Just a bit longer,' he thought as they all heard the train's horn blare loudly. The two members of RWBY just glanced at each other before nodding in an unspoken agreement as Blake charged him. The two former partners became a blur of movement as each used their own sword and sheath combo to try and outdo the other. Adam appeared to have the advantage until his sword passed through one of Blake's clones that then turned to ice, trapping the weapon inside. Blake then leapt backwards before sending a third much larger crescent wave towards him. Realizing that he couldn't absorb it with his sword trapped Adam tried to dodge it, only to find himself unable to move. Eyes widening he looked down at his feet to see a black glowing glyph beneath them, glancing up at the heiress he saw her smile in satisfaction as the wave crashed into him. As his head hit the back of the cart Adam's vision went black and he collapsed to the floor, leaving an exhausted Blake and Weiss to stand over him.

"Come on we've got to keep moving," ordered Weiss before they heard the door behind them open.

* * *

><p>Yang fired Ember Celica at the illusionist and quickly followed the shot as she charged, grabbing Neo by the arm as the illusionist rolled to dodge the incoming shot. Grinning the blonde slammed Neo into the floor, denting it slightly as she picked her up again before throwing her across the cart. Neo twisted her body in midair, pushing herself off the wall as she rapidly closed in on the brawler. Yang's eyes widened as she dived to the side narrowly missing the sword that was aimed at her neck.<p>

"Ha! Is that all you've-" Yang's voice trailed off as she saw a golden strand float down to the floor, instantly her body erupted in a pillar of fire as she glared at Neo. "You're dead."

Neo backed up slightly at this hostile stare and watched as the fire pillar died down to reveal Yang with hair in flames and glowing brighter than the sun, her body surrounded in the yellow glow of her aura. The illusionist felt the temperature skyrocketed as sweat dripped down her back and she had to bite back a frown. 'This could be a problem,' she thought as she dodged another blow from the blonde, only to frown as she saw the metal bend significantly from the force of the blow. 'Scratch that, this is definitely a problem.'

As the illusionist continued dodging she noted that her opponent's strength only seemed to be getting stronger the more time passed, meaning that a drawn out fight was not in her favour. Blocking one of the brawler's blows she gritted her teeth as she felt her arm reverberate from the strength behind, 'blocking is definitely out,' she analysed. Ducking under another blow Neo slammed the hilt of her sword into the blonde's stomach and quickly backpedaled, gaining some distance between the two.

'Okay think I can't draw this out so I need to finish it quickly but my illusions are useless now…or are they?' thought Neo with a smug grin as an idea began forming in her mind. Standing still she didn't move an inch as the brawler charged her like an oncoming freight train, just closing her eyes and as she pictured the girl in her mind.

"You lose!" shouted Yang eagerly.

"Yang? What are you doing?" asked a familiar voice.

There where Neo had stood moments before was Ruby staring at Yang with a fearful expression, immediately the blonde froze in her attack. 'Ruby' just gained a smug grin and Yang felt something slash across her stomach, sending pain spreading around her body as 'Ruby' continued to attack. By the time Yang's brain realized what was going on she was already dangerously low on aura and could barely keep her eyes open as Ruby's image shattered to reveal Neo standing over her with her sword poised for the kill.

"Family is such a wonderful thing, isn't it?" teased the illusionist as she brought the sword down for the kill.

Only for it to be intercepted by a red blade and Neo's eyes widened as she quickly leapt backwards, seeing a figure walking out of a red portal. Yang could only watch as this masked figure glanced at her before turning her attention back to Neo, whom just took one look at her before retreating. The masked figure then slashed her sword downwards and another red portal formed, seeing the figure leaving Yang pushed herself up from the ground.

"Hey wait!" she called and the figure just turned to look at her.

"You have bigger things to worry about right now Yang or have you forgotten about Ruby?" it asked, causing Yang to freeze.

It was only after the portal closed that she realized something, how did that person know their names? Frowning she shook the thought off for now and ran after her teammates, seeing them standing over the unconscious form of Adam.

"Yang you okay?" asked Blake as they rushed over to her.

"I'm fine just a bit tired that's all," she assured them.

Weiss nodded before gesturing to the last door, "come on we've still got to stop this train."

Opening the door the WBY of RWBY saw Roman sighing in his chair as well as the three White Fang train operators staring at them. "So you got pass them after all? Well colour me impressed, unfortunately you're just a tad too late," he informed them, pointing out the window.

They all followed his gaze and their hearts sank as they saw the end of the tunnel rapidly approaching them, "if I was you I'd brace yourselves. We've got quite the obstacle ahead of us," commented Roman.

Weiss just glared at the criminal before stabbing Myrtenaster into the floor, encasing the team in ice. "No what about Ruby!" shouted Yang, slamming her fist into ice shield.

"Don't worry Yang, Oobleck will take care of her," replied Blake and the three teammates braced themselves for impact.

* * *

><p>Red broke into another coughing fit as she watched Oobleck tear into the White Fang grunts with his Paladin, it couldn't even be called a fight, it was a slaughter. In fact the only thing she had to do was keep a lookout for any rocketeers before taking them out with Crescent Rose. All in all things were going exceedingly well so far on their end but she was worried about the others, they'd been gone a while now. Red had asked twice to go down and check on them but Oobleck had refused her every time saying, 'trust your teammates.'<p>

Suddenly a loud train horn blared throughout the tunnels and immediately the White Fang retreated back into the train, leaving Red and Oobleck standing alone on the top. Frowning she got out of cover and approached the red Paladin as they both saw something at the end of the tunnel. 'What is that?' she thought before being startled from her thoughts by the Paladin opening up next to her.

"Ruby get in quickly!" ordered the professor frantically.

Hearing the urgency in the Oobleck's tone Red didn't question his order and just jumped into the cockpit and the professor sealed it up. "Brace yourself," he warned her as the two felt something smash into the mech.

Groaning from the blow to the head she took during the collision Red opened her eyes to see Oobleck trying to work the mech with her in the way, and doing a surprisingly good job of it too. "Alright we're out of the tunnels," he announced before opening up the cockpit.

"Ruby I need to help defend the city. Once I'm out close the cockpit behind me and stay in the Paladin, you'll be safe here," he ordered.

Red frowned at him, "but I want to help, my teams out there fighting I can't just stay here and do nothing!"

"Yes you can! You're in no condition to fight, going out there now will only get you killed. You're weak!" he shouted at her, causing Red to flinch.

"I'm not weak!" she cried.

"Ruby I know you mean well but please just do as I say, for Yang's sake," he sighed.

Red said nothing but just nodded as the cockpit closed, sealing her in. "I'm not weak," she muttered quietly before curling up in a ball, her tattoos bathing the cockpit in a soft red colour.

She heard Oobleck stay nearby briefly, probably checking to make sure she did stay before heading off to fight the Grimm. Sitting in the darkening cockpit she just sighed, 'stupid aura not working right. How can I help if I can't even fight?' It was then she realized something, she was in a Paladin, a mech…a war machine. 'Technically I'm not disobeying him,' she thought as a smile spread across her face. Getting into the control seat she pressed the button she saw the professor use earlier and grinned as the numerous screens began to light up.

"Panzer Vor!"

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><p><strong>Red in a mech? This can only go well...<strong>


	35. The Unbeatable Combo

**Another chapter completed, hope you enjoy it.**

**I don't own RWBY or I wouldn't have spent ages trying to figure out where a Paladin ranks in terms of strength compared to Grimm.**

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><p>Red glanced around the control seat and smiled as she examined the layout, it was almost like those old arcade games back on Earth. There were two joysticks, one on either side of the chair and both had a button where the thumbs were. There were three buttons on the chair itself one was glowing a dull grey and the other two were flashing green and blue respectively.<p>

"Alright let's see here… joysticks for movement, damn it why is it inverted!?" growled Red as the Paladin slammed into a wall.

"Ok next what does this button do?" she wondered out loud before pressing the flashing green button.

Instantly more screens begin flashing different colours before a targeting ridicule appeared on the main screen, along with an ammo tracker. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Red pushed a flashing button on one of the joysticks as the reticule locked on to a flying Nevermore. Instantly the ammo counter went down as a barrage of missiles chased after the Grimm, knocking it out of the sky.

"Ok green button is missiles, what about the blue one?" she muttered as she began experimenting.

Upon pressing the blue button Red saw the ammo counter disappear and was replaced by some sort of blue bar displaying a 0%. Eager to test her new weapon she moved the reticle until it was aligned with an approaching Beowolf, grinning she pressed the firing button only to see the blue bar rapidly increase to 100% before a blast of blue energy came flying out and liquefied the Grimm.

"So cool…" gasped Red, her inner weapon nut already trying to piece together how the weapons worked. "I shall call you Freckles," she announced with glee.

However before she could experiment with the machine anymore Red heard an alarm blare throughout the cockpit before one of the screens enlarged to show a pack of Beowolves charging her Paladin from behind. Spinning the mech around she opened fire on the Grimm with the energy weapons, backing away as she did so to buy herself some more time. A total of eight Beowolves had been liquefied by the time the rest of the pack finally caught up to Red and leapt onto her Paladin, searching for a weak point in its metal armour.

"Dumb dogs get off Freckles!" growled Red in frustration, slamming the mech into a building and crushing the Grimm who weren't quick enough to jump off.

Seeing only two Beowolves remaining she grinned as she picked up the two Grimm and smashed them into each other before throwing them into the wall, "time to find Yang and the others," stated Red as she walked the mech down the streets of Vale. Only to growl as she saw a horde of Grimm blocking off the street.

Red sent the mech into a run as she literally ploughed through the horde of Grimm, crushing any under her feet who weren't smart enough to move out of her way. As she was making the Grimm's day miserable Red saw two familiar faces fighting nearby and grinned as she made her way over. Both Sun and Neptune finished all of the nearby Grimm and turned to face her Paladin with a worried expression. Red was confused until she remembered the White Fang logo emblazoned on the mech's shoulder, checking to make sure there weren't any nearby Grimm she opened the cockpit and laughed at their stunned expressions.

"You know if I really was a White Fang member you two would be in trouble," she teased.

"Oh please we could've taken you," replied Sun.

"You guys seen the rest of my team?" asked Red.

The two members of SSSN just shook their heads before all three of them heard a roar behind them, turning they saw a group of Ursa majors running at them. Closing the cockpit she frowned and started the mech back up before switching to the missiles systems, killing one and scattering the rest as Sun and Neptune charged them. Unable to fire either the missiles or energy weapons without risking hitting her two friends Red just sighed and sent the Paladin into a bull rush at the nearest Ursa. Shoulder bashing the Grimm with the force of a runaway bus she watched the Ursa collapse onto the ground, struggling to get up. Taking a brief moment to marvel at the creature's durability she curb stomped the Grimm and an unnatural predatory grin spread across her face at the sight of it, the tattoos covering her face beginning to glow again.

Turning to the rest of the combatants Red began laughing as she picked up one of the Ursas surrounding Sun and repeatedly pummelled it into the ground, not stopping until she saw the Grimm go limp in the mech's hands. The rest of the Ursas all attacked her at once as they prioritized the mech as the biggest threat, causing Red to frown as she forced the Paladin to jump into the air. Expecting to collide into a heavy mech the Grimm weren't able to stop their forward momentum in time and crashed into each other, only for them to be crushed under the Paladin as she landed.

"Well that was fun," she said with a laugh that rapidly turned to a cough as the light from her tattoos faded. On the main screen Red saw Neptune motioning for to open up the cockpit again, shrugging she climbed out and frowned at Neptune's expression.

"Wow Red that was brutal, remind me never to get on your bad side," laughed Sun, only to shut up at the look his teammate sent him.

"That was reckless and stupid Red, what made you think taking on all of them at once by yourself was a good idea?" demanded the blue haired boy.

"Don't worry about it Freckles here can take them," replied Red, giving the mech an affectionate pat.

The two boys just raised their eyebrows before Neptune continued, "Paladins are tough but they're not invincible Red. We're living proof of that."

"Where'd you even get that thing anyway?" asked Sun.

"'That thing' has a name Sun," reminded Red.

"Fine, where did you get…Freckles?" sighed the monkey Faunus.

"I borrowed it from a certain group of unsavoury people, somehow I don't think they'll mind," grinned the reaper.

"Red that isn't a toy, it's a war machine! You need to get out of there, you're not trained nor qualified to use it," lectured Neptune.

"Relax Neptune I've already got the basics down pact," she reassured him.

"That's not the point! You shouldn't even be in there in the first place," he groaned and began rubbing his temples.

"Sorry mate but I was ordered by Professor Oobleck to 'stay in the Paladin,' I'm afraid the teacher's orders outweigh yours," grinned Red.

"And did he also tell you to go around piloting it?" replied Neptune as his eye twitched.

Red plastered a thoughtful expression on her face as she rest a finger rested on her chin, "hmm…well he never said not to. Anyway cya guys later I've got to find the rest of my team."

"Red wait!" cried the blue boy only to growl in frustration as she disappeared back into the cockpit and the mech ran down a nearby street.

Leaving the two members of SSSN behind Red heard another alarm go off before something slammed the mech into the wall, groaning she saw numerous error messages popping up and was immediately flustered as she tried to make sense of the chaos. The Paladin was slammed again and this time Red could make out the large white serpentine head of a King Taijitu as she finally dismissed the messages.

"Game on," grinned Red as the Paladin's weapons began glowing a bright blue.

The massive white head hissed at her before it charged Red with its jaw wide open, revealing rows of sharp fangs. Seeing her target rapidly approaching she fired the energy weapons and her jaw dropped as the white head quickly weaved out of the way before continuing on course. Realizing she couldn't fire fast enough to stop it Red deactivated the weapons and grimaced as she used the mech's hands to hold the creatures jaw open, preventing her from being swallowed. This stalemate wasn't going to last for long however and the Paladin's servos began whining as Red was forced a couple of steps backwards.

"Come on Freckles, let's take this snake down," cheered Red as she switched to the back mounted missiles before firing it into the Grimm's open mouth.

The white head swelled up briefly before bursting like a bubble and Red was sent flying from the resulting explosion. Shaking her head as a ringing began in her ear, Red coughed up some more blood and stained the screen in front of her. The mech began sparking as she forced it to its feet and turned to look at the defeated Grimm with a grin that rapidly turned into a frown, 'wait didn't the King Taijitu have two heads?'

Just as she thought this the mech gave a sudden lurch and Red cried out in pain as her head was slammed into the screen again and a metallic screech was heard before the mech tumbled to the pavement. Groaning she looked at the main screen and saw the black head hissing as it held one of the Paladin's arms in its jaw. Firing the one remaining energy weapon at the head she growled as the Grimm expertly dodged the blast and wrapped itself around the mech. Unable to move the Paladin's hand Red switched to the back mounted missile launcher and fired point blank into the Grimm, causing it to screech as it let go and sent what was left of her Paladin crashing into the ground.

Inside the cockpit Red saw many of the screens turn to static as the main one showed the pissed off Grimm approaching her. Panicking she hit the button that opened the cockpit before grabbing Crescent Rose and diving out of the mech as the King Taijitu began constricting the Paladin.

"Good bye Freckles your sacrifice shall not be in vain," promised Red as she saluted the red mech and ran off before the Grimm realized that its prey had escaped.

Red was about to head down a street when she heard a familiar voice coming from the nearby town square. Grinning at her luck she began cutting her way through the horde of Grimm, keeping an eye out for the familiar blonde hair of her sister.

* * *

><p>Yang groaned as she got to her feet and quickly shook her two teammates awake as numerous Grimm began pouring through the gap and into the streets. The three formed a circle as they were surrounded by the creatures of Grimm, each side waiting for the other to make a move. The stalemate lasted for a few seconds until they all heard the buzzing of rotors above them, quickly glancing up the blonde's jaw dropped as they all saw a fleet of airships and gunships hovering over the city. The gunships then opened fire on the Grimm, thinning their numbers greatly before dropping numerous robots into the city.<p>

The remnants of team RWBY took this as their queue and charged the horde of Grimm as the Atlesian Knights opened fire. Taking fire from both sides the Grimm were in complete confusion and began taking heavy casualties, however that didn't mean that they weren't giving the trio of hunters a fight and Yang found herself panting as she struggled to defend herself from the horde. Trying to ignore a bad feeling that was growing in the pits of her stomach.

* * *

><p>Red grimaced as she decapitated the Beowolf with her scythe before ducking under another member of the pack, Crescent Rose seeming to grow heavier with each swing. Panting from exhaustion she shot her new opponent in the head only to cry out in pain as a third used this as an opening to slash her across her back, creating large tears in her cloak. Spinning around Red bisected the Grimm before retreating slightly to catch her breath. Leaning up against a wall she tried to ignore the blood running down her back and continued to look for her team, her eyes finally spotting Yang's blonde mane in the sea of faces. Pushing herself off the wall she made her way to her teammate, leaving a path of diced Grimm in her wake.<p>

"Yang!" she called as she approached.

Instantly the brawler spun around and looked at her in shock, "Ruby? What are you doing here!? You're supposed to be with Oobleck!"

"I'm not going to sit on the sidelines while the rest of you fight. I want to help," replied Red.

"No it's too dangerous! You can't fight without your aura protecting you! Now get out of here!" yelled the blonde.

"I can fight! I don't need aura to help me!" cried Red before she charged towards a Death Stalker.

"Ruby!" called Yang concerned as she chased after her sister.

Ignoring her Red switched Crescent Rose to its gun mode and blinded the Grimm with a rapid burst into its eyes. Screeching in pain and rage the Death Stalker thrashed about wildly with its pincers and Red was forced to jump over the incoming claws. Landing on the Grimm's back she slashed the stinger off its tail before slamming it through the exoskeleton with her scythe. Leaping off the collapsed Grimm Red turned to look at Yang with a smug grin.

"You were saying?" she asked.

Yang just glared at her before her eyes widened and she quickly ran at Red, pointing at something behind her. Turning she saw the Death Stalker she'd thought she'd killed earlier sending one of its pincers towards her at an incredible speed. Her eyes widening she tried to use her Semblance to escape only to find it fail to activate once again. Red could only watch as her death got closer when she felt something smack into her, knocking the reaper to the ground. Picking herself up from the ground Red turned to see what had hit her when a cold feeling flooded her body at the sight that greeted her. The Death Stalker had Yang caught in one of its pincers.

The blonde huntress in training screamed in pain as the Stalker realized it had caught something and began to squeeze. Red could only watch with a horrified expression as Yang's yellow aura flared briefly before it sputtered and died, the blonde's cries of agony growing louder. There was the sound of bones snapping as the Grimm increased the pressure on the blonde's body before Yang became limp in its grip. Noticing this the Stalker smashed the brawler into the pavement before throwing Yang away like a used chew toy. Red rushed over to where the blonde lay unmoving on the ground, her blonde hair stained with red.

"Yang are you okay?" she asked, only to get no response.

"Yang!? Yang! Enough joking around! Get up!" cried Red, her voice breaking as she shook the unmoving brawler.

"Yang I'm sorry just… please get up," she sobbed as her hands began to glow a faint black and everything disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>All Our Days- RWBY Volume 2 Soundtrack<strong>

Snapping awake Red found herself in a familiar snow covered forest. Only the colour of everything was reversed, there was a white night and a black moon in the sky while black snow blanketed the ground. Looking down she saw Yang's body was missing and began panicking.

"Yang? Yang! Where are you?!" she yelled in alarm.

"Who's that?" asked a raspy young female voice.

Jumping Red spun around with a tearful expression, only to see a blurred image of a blonde toddler with piggy tails in front of her. It was like looking through smoke as the girl's yellow tinted image wavered in front of her.

"This is your new little sister Yang," came another raspy female voice.

Red turned to the new voice and saw another smoky image, this one tinted white and showing a white cloaked figure that was carrying something red in her arms as she approached the toddler. "Say hello to Ruby," announced the white one.

The toddler looked at the red bundle in the white one's hands with an excited expression, "hello my name's Yang, welcome to the family Ruby," she greeted.

"You'll need to look out for each other from now on Yang. Promise me that if something happens to me you'll take care of her," begged the white one.

"Don't worry mom I'll keep her safe," promised the yellow toddler and Red saw a small hand reach up from the bundle and grab the toddler's pinkie finger.

The trio of smoky figures then disappeared as if blown away by the nonexistent wind as Red tried to touch them, to share in their happiness. Red's eyes began watering as she stared at the now empty spot in front of her before she heard the sound of a child's laughter next to her. Spinning around she saw that she was surrounded by numerous smoky images of the two sisters, and Red felt herself drowning in the memories of each. The joy of playing games with Yang back home at Patch, the excitement of sneaking into the kitchen together at night to steal ice-cream and cookies without their parents knowing, the warm feeling when Yang read books to her at bed time or complimented her on her skills, the comfort she provided when their mother died. All of it…gone.

Red felt tears run down her face as the images faded from view and were replaced by blurry but recognizable forms of a teenaged Yang and Ruby, each appearing to be on their dorm beds. "Hey Yang?" came Ruby's raspy voice.

"What's up sis?" asked Yang.

"What if…during a mission together…things happened and I got killed or something…what would you do?" asked Ruby as she looked down at her hands.

"Ruby what's brought this on?" replied Yang with a frown.

"I just have a bad feeling about combat class tomorrow, like this might be the last time we see each other. Still what would you do?" pressed Ruby.

Yang suddenly burst into laughter, "You? Of team RWBY got killed? The youngest prodigy to ever attend Beacon? Don't be silly Ruby that will never happen."

"How can you be so sure?" questioned Ruby.

"Don't you remember? We promised to look after each other no matter what. As long I'm around I'll protect you and you'll protect me. Nothing can stop our unbeatable combo," stated Yang with a fist pump.

"But what if we're separated?" continued Ruby sadly.

Yang jumped down from her bed and walked over to her sister before embracing her, "Ruby that will never happen, I'll be by your side forever and ever."

She watched as the image of the embracing sisters faded away, "Sis…you big liar," whispered Red with tear filled eyes.

"It's not nice to insult the dead especially when you're the cause of it," came a familiar voice. Spinning around Red saw a bloodied Yang appear before her, the brawler's blonde hair was streaked with blood and her face as caked in the red liquid.

"It's not my fault! I did all I could please believe me," begged Red.

A look of rage crossed Yang's face, "And it wasn't enough! Roman was right you have gotten weak."

"No! I've gotten stronger! I beat him!" denied Red with a shake of her head.

The blonde looked on unimpressed, "but you didn't kill him. You could have ended all this before it even began but now all these deaths are on your hands."

"I don't want to kill again," muttered Red weakly.

Yang released a low growl, "and that childish and selfish desire is what got me killed just like Roman predicted!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," sobbed Red as she fell to her knees.

"Shh it's okay you can make it up to me," comforted the blonde.

"How?" asked Red, eagerly.

"Simple Red, you just need to…correct your mistake," replied Yang as she placed a black outlined hand on Red's shoulder.

The blonde gained an odd smile as Red's eyes glazed over at her touch, "you know what to do," she stated.

"Kill Roman Torchwick," answered the reaper with blank expression.

"And what if others get in the way?" questioned the smiling blonde.

"They're threats," replied Red coldly.

"And what do we do to threats?" asked 'Yang.'

"**Eliminate them**," answered Red as her aura began glowing a black colour and the last slivers of red were consumed.

The brawler just watched with a pleased expression as Red was consumed by the darkness before the image of Yang melted away to reveal a pure black, masked, red eyed shadow. Walking away from the scene it entered the twisted forest as darkness rushed in, devouring any remaining light it could find. Finally the shadow stopped in front of a collapsed red hooded figure, watching as its weak vibrant red glow died before the shadow turned and left with a satisfied smile on its face.

"**Grief and guilt, now that's the real unbeatable combo. Isn't it Ruby?"** it murmured in amusement.

As the shadow walked away it didn't notice the single red rose clutched in the collapsed figures hands and glowing a weak warm red, the last light in a sea of darkness.

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><p><strong>... ... ...<strong>


	36. I'm Seeing Red

**So yeah sorry for the wait but things didn't exactly go to plan. Anyway enjoy the next chapter.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't need to put so much effort into exams.**

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><p>Blake ducked under the incoming swipe from a Beowolf before spinning around to block the follow up attack, only to frown as she saw the Grimm pause mid swing and turn to look at something. Taking a quick look around showed all the Grimm stopping their fights and doing the same. Her curiosity getting the better of her Blake leapt backwards and turned to follow the Grimm's gaze, a cold feeling spreading throughout her body at the sight that greeted her. Yang was laying still on the ground bleeding while Ruby knelt beside her with an Ursa towering above the duo.<p>

There was silence on the battlefield as everyone, Grimm, Human and Faunus, turned to watch this turn of events with a strange sense of foreboding. They all heard a clang as Crescent Rose fell to the pavement leaving what should have been an easy kill for the Grimm. Blake tried to rush over and help but found her body trembling and refusing to even move anywhere near her endangered teammate. Unable to do anything but watch Blake cursed as she saw Ruby begin to slowly stand up and turn to face the Ursa.

The Faunus' eyes widened in shock however as she watched the Grimm, a creature that had willingly charged itself to its death just to kill one enemy, begin to slowly back away in fear. Ruby's clothes had cuts in them, she had wounds all over her body and wasn't even armed, everything about her indicated she was on her last legs and yet the Ursa, a creature of Grimm, refused to even go near her. Blake gasped as she felt the waves of killing intent that were rolling off Ruby. Nothing not even Grimm ever emitted this much, it was so intense that it felt she was being stabbed repeatedly in the chest.

"Ruby?" came Weiss' fearful voice from behind her.

Blake glanced at her white haired teammate whom was struggling to stand up, forced to use her rapier as a crutch. Turning back to Ruby the Faunus had to suppress a shudder at the sight, her aura was changing as a glossy black colour began to spread throughout the bright red, giving Blake the impression of rot in a fruit. Ruby's hair had grown down to her shoulders and turned the same colour as her aura and her hands had changed to accommodate her new large and razor sharp claws. Blake watched as large rune like tattoos that ran across her body began glow a harsh red. Most of Ruby's face was shrouded by her hood but Blake could make out two red glowing lights where her eyes should have been.

Ruby just glared at the Ursa in front of her and the Grimm bowed its head before quickly getting out of her sight. Giving a low growl Ruby then began turning around, obviously in search of someone when her gaze came to rest on Roman Torchwick, who was being captured by a green haired girl. Upon seeing the criminal the killing intent from Ruby skyrocketed and she let out a guttural roar that sounded more animal the human before launching herself at him. Hearing her roar the greenette dived to the side and drew her dual wielding pistols.

"Ruby stop! What are you doing!?" shouted Blake.

And like a switch had been hit, the minute Ruby attacked, the Grimm decided the cease fire had gone on long enough. The last thing Blake saw before she lost sight of her teammates as she and Weiss were attacked by yet another pack of Beowolves was what looked like a red portal form near Yang. As the two fought their way towards Yang one thought crossed their minds, what had happened to Ruby?

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><p>Hearing the roar Emerald dived to the side and drew her weapons, a frown present on her face. This wasn't part of the plan, she was meant to 'capture' Roman and gain the trust of the staff not tango with an obviously unhinged girl. Roman hadn't bothered to stick around and had fled to a relatively safe distance to watch, after all it would raise a few questions as to why Vale's most wanted was helping her. Firing her pistols she was greeted to the sight of her opponent's shoulder spurt blood causing the thief to frown. 'That shouldn't have happened. She clearly has her aura active and yet my bullets are passing right through her…like it's not even shielding her,' she realized with wide eyes.<p>

With this realization her frown deepened, Cinder had said that Earth aura was powerful from before but nothing of this scale, it was almost overpowering. She watched as the girl, if the creature in front of her could still be called that, placed a hand over her wounded shoulder and examined it. Seeing it covered with blood the creature turned its red gaze to Emerald before giving an animalistic snarl and charging the greenette. Not expecting the sudden charge from her opponent Emerald had no time to dodge and instead switched her pistols to their Kamas forms, flaring her aura as she tried to block the incoming blow.

However the claws just passed through her aura as if it wasn't even there, causing Emerald to cry out in pain as large gashes appeared down her arms. Emerald struggled to stand as she felt her aura begin to quickly heal her wounds but it wasn't fast enough, she saw the beast approach her slowly as if savoring the moment. Unable to use her arms she was defenceless as her opponent began to pick her up by the throat. Looking into the hooded face Emerald saw no pity or mercy in those red glowing eye, only an all-consuming rage and as she saw the white flash of teeth for the first time Emerald felt truly afraid. Closing her eyes she waited for the end when suddenly the grip around her throat disappeared. Confused she opened her eyes to see her opponent leaping back as her grey haired partner stepped in between them.

"Well Red looks like we get to have that rematch after all," Mercury commented, smugly.

Red's only response was a low snarl as her hood finally fell down revealing her face, instantly Mercury dropped his smug façade as he readied his greaves.

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><p>Blake thrust Gambol Shroud into the Beowolf before taking a quick look around, with the addition of Atlas' military helping out most of the Grimm were killed or about to be killed. Seeing a chance the two of them ran over to Yang and checked on her condition. Only to find someone had already bandaged the wounds and sure enough Blake heard to faint sound of a heartbeat coming from their teammate.<p>

"Blake is she ok?" asked Weiss, concerned.

The Faunus frowned, "she's alive but barely, whoever treated her really knew what they were doing. Her aura's got her stabilized but if we don't get her proper medical attention soon then we're in trouble."

"Blake what the hell happened to Red?" called Sun as he and Neptune ran over to them.

Blake frowned and followed their gaze to see the green haired girl wounded on the ground with her grey haired partner whom looked like he was barely staying upright. Then she saw Ruby and her heart sank, Ruby's black aura wafted around her like smoke and a white mask covered the top half of her face. Unlike the masks worn by the White Fang this one looked alive, with glowing runes that joined the tattoos around her body. In fact it looked like it was fused to her skin, impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Ruby suddenly bellowed another animalistic roar and Blake saw large fang like canines had replaced her teeth.

"Her Earth aura, it's gone out of control," she informed them.

The two looked shocked at this, "this is her aura? I never even heard of one capable of doing this before," replied Neptune in disbelief.

"Earth aura is far more dangerous than Remnant one, that's why we told her never to use it again," said Weiss.

Any further questions were halted be the sound of a male crying in pain, turning around they saw Mercury staggering back to his feet, a slight limp in his left leg. The teen then rolled to side and tried to sweep kick Ruby off her feet. Only to cry out in pain again as she anticipated his move and grabbed his leg before biting down on it, tearing huge chunks out of the limb.

Wincing Neptune looked at Sun whom nodded in response before turning to Blake, "we'll keep Red busy, you guys get Yang some help," he ordered.

Before either of them could argue the two members of SSSN had run off with their weapons drawn, sighing Blake and Weiss grabbed Yang fireman style and carried her to the nearest grounded airship. As the two arrived they saw team CFVY and JNPR along with General Ironwood, Prof. Goodwitch, Oobleck and Port cleaning up the last of the Grimm from the area.

"… elling you General your robots are acting odd," informed Goodwitch.

"In what way Professor?" asked the general.

"They keep saying there are multiple S-class Grimm in the city but there have been no sightings and none could have fit through that tunnel," replied Port.

"I see that is odd, their scanners are state of the art so faults like that shouldn't occur. I will have to have them recalled after this," agreed Ironwood.

"Prof. Goodwitch we need a doctor now!" cried Blake as they rushed over to them.

The four adults turned to them in surprise which rapidly evolved into looks of concern as the spotted Yang. "General flag down the nearest airship I'll escort her to the hospital," said Oobleck.

Ironwood frowned, "with all due respect Professor you have more use to us on the ground then escorting the wounded."

"Most of the Grimm have already been dealt with, besides team RWBY were assigned to me and as such they are my responsibility," argued Oobleck.

"Very well," sighed the general before grabbing a nearby radio.

"Thank you Professor," said Weiss.

Oobleck just nodded as he and two soldiers carefully placed Yang in the Bullhead before flying off. Blake let out a sigh of relief as the aircraft disappeared in the distance. "Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee, where is Miss Rose?" asked Goodwitch.

They both flinched as they informed them of what happened, all of the adults' faces going pale at the news of her black aura. "Looks like we found our S-class," commented Port grimly.

"Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee, you as well as team CFVY and JNPR are to stay here with the General. Prof. Port and I will deal with this," ordered Goodwitch.

"Ruby's our teammate and Sun and Neptune are our friends you can't just expect us to stay here!" exclaimed Weiss.

Glynda just turned to glare at the heiress, "this is an enemy beyond your current abilities, if you go you will only get in the way."

Seeing the heiress become quiet the two professors rushed towards where Ruby was, a small army of Atlesian Knights following close behind.

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><p>Mercury knew he was going to lose it was only a matter of time, this opponent was simply out of his league. Every time he thought he'd figured out its fighting pattern it would change to throw him off balance, whenever he tried to take the offensive it would anticipate his every move. Sure it was wounded as shown by the bloodied shoulder as well as the numerous cuts on its body but that didn't even seem to slow it down, as it just shrugged off the blows like it was nothing. In fact if anything the wounds made it all the more deadly, after all there's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. At the same time his own wounds were beginning to take their toll, he could barely walk with his busted leg which meant his kick boxing fighting style was completely ruined, leaving Mercury with no real weapon left.<p>

Diving to the side as he dodged another strike from it, unfortunately the kickboxer's leg decided to finally give out and Mercury fell to the ground. Before he could even think about getting up he felt pressure on his neck, opening his eyes showed his opponent stamping down his throat with its boot. Unable to breathe Mercury began to see spots appear in his vision as he weakly tried to push it off, to no avail.

"Hey Red heads up!" called a teasing voice.

Mercury saw a blonde monkey Faunus appear from behind the beast before slamming his staff into its head, sending it flying off the kickboxer and into the wall. Mercury gasped as air rushed into his lungs and turned to see the Faunus and his blue haired teammate walk up to him.

"You still good to fight?" asked the blue one.

He shook his head, "my leg's busted no way I can fight until it heals."

The blue one frowned as he readied his trident, "in that case take your green haired friend and get back we'll keep it busy."

"Thanks," replied Mercury, grudgingly as he struggled to his feet.

"No problem we Haven students need to look out for each other after all," answered the blonde.

"Right…don't bother using aura defensively it can just bypass it," he warned them before grabbing Emerald and limping off to a safe distance.

"Saved by a couple of losers, great I'll never hear the end of this," he grumbled, taking a seat as he grabbed his scroll.

Cinder did tell them to study any potential threats and those two looked like they could fight, besides whatever this creature was there was no denying that it was powerful. Cinder would definitely want to study it, if only to find its weakness. Grinning he turned on the camera, "alright it's showtime."

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><p>Neptune's eyes widened as he saw the creature climb out of the ruined wall, apparently oblivious to the blood now running down its face. Its red eyes narrowed as it spotted the two of them, causing Sun and Neptune to swallow in fear as they saw white bone-like structures begin to cover its body like armour. There was no warning this time around, no roar or growl, instead the runes began to glow brighter as it leapt into the air. Remembering the other boy's warning they didn't even try to block and just rolled to either side as it landed between them, the pavement cracking beneath its feet.<p>

"Hey Sun I think we made her mad," called Neptune.

"Yeah Red learn to take a joke would you?" grinned Sun.

It just glared at them as the smoky aura began to intensify around the creature until the only thing visible were the red glow of the eyes and rune tattoos. Coughing, they both backed off and began circling the creature warily, waiting to see its next move. Turning, it charged Sun who then split Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang into their gunchuck forms as the beast got within very close range. It was at this point both the teens realized the purpose of the smoky aura. It made it nearly impossible to tell where the actual attack was coming from and acted as some sort of gas, causing them to feel light head before their own aura kicked in.

Sun was good, the fact that despite these obvious disadvantages he only suffered scratches so far was a testament to his skill. However even the experienced hunters would have struggled under this assault and before long Sun found himself being pressed into a corner. Seeing his teammate beginning to struggle Neptune ran at the beast with his trident, intending to force it away from Sun. But instead of dodging away it simply allowed Neptune to impale the trident through its hand, causing the blue haired boy to freeze in shock. Taking advantage of the sudden opening the beast used its good hand to slash Neptune across the chest, whom just stared at his wound in disbelief.

"Neptune!" cried Sun, concerned as he watched the creature pull the trident from its hand before slamming the blunt end into his teammate, sending Neptune skidding across the street where he lay unmoving.

Dropping the trident it turned back to Sun with a growl as it rushed him, shoulder bashing him before he could even use his semblance. Realizing he needed to end this quickly Sun ducked as the beast tried to bite his jugular and flipped onto its back. Wrapping the chain of his gunchucks around its neck the monkey Faunus tightened his grip as the creature began to thrash, trying to get the annoying monkey off its back. But Sun continued to hold on even as it scored a couple of hits on him, causing the Faunus to hiss in pain. Realizing the monkey wouldn't let go the creature quickly smashed its back up against a wall, nearly crushing Sun as he let go from the pain and fell to the floor. Sun was so dazed by the blow he didn't see the creature leap up in the air nor did he see the black clad boot that smashed his face against the wall and the last thing he heard was a roar of satisfaction before everything went dark.

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><p>Glynda Goodwitch was a person who was known for being calm and collected under moments of extreme stress, so to see her panicking one would instantly know something had gone very badly wrong. As she and Port began to pass the numerous destroyed buildings the sounds of fighting finally stopped and a loud roar echoed through the ruins, causing the two to pick up speed as they feared for the worst.<p>

"She might be dangerous at the moment but if you can try to take her alive, we might be able to fix this," ordered Glynda.

"To think an S-class Grimm in the city and we need to take it down alive. This should make a better story then even the capture of my arch nemesis Edgar," grinned Port before his smile dropped.

"That being said Glynda you do realize if she's at that point there is little we can do save her," he commented, darkly.

"She is our student Peter and as her teachers it is our duty to help her, especially at times like this," she retorted.

As they reached the end of the street the two professors stopped dead in their tracks, there slowly approaching them was the remnants of what was once Ruby Rose. The former student was bleeding from numerous cuts along her body, as well as a bloodied shoulder and one hand that was hanging limply by her side.

"Dear God how is it even alive let alone standing?" exclaimed a shocked Port.

Before Glynda could reply they heard the sound of rifles being fired as the Atlesian Knights behind them opened fire. Glynda and Port watched as instead of dodging like they expected it to the creature slammed its fist into the pavement. It then grabbed a large piece from the broken pavement and used it as a shield from the dust rounds. As the robots paused to reload the creature charged, the Knights tried to shoot it but weren't able to get through its shield and before long the beast had reached them. Crushing three of the robots under its makeshift shield the beast turned and began slashing and biting the rest, the Knights heavy armour might as well of been made from paper for all the good it did them. Glynda and Port were stunned as the watched it single handily rip the army to shreds, both trying to analyze the creatures fighting ability.

"I can see now why even the Headmaster is weary with S-class Grimm," said Port as the last of the Knights were destroyed.

Glynda nodded and the two Beacon professors readied their weapons as it turned to face them, not letting it take the intuitive Port fired his blunderbuss at the creature. The beast leapt to the side as several fireballs passed within a hairsbreadth of it before rushing Port. Only to be hit with a wave of debris as Glynda shielded Port as he retreated. Gesturing with her crop Glynda sent a car flying at the creature whom simply held it back by sheer strength, the runes flaring briefly as it threw the car out of the way. However the beast was not prepared for Port to take advantage of the car and use it as cover for his approach. Unprepared and caught flat footed as Port took advantage of its current blind spot, the creature howled in pain as the blunderbuss created a large gash along its chests.

For a moment it looked like it would finally go down and the professors watched as it swayed on its feet before the red runes began to glow more harshly and it let out a cry of rage. Both professors took a cautious step back as the smoky black aura surrounded the creature, leaving only the red glow of the runes visible. Unfortunately for the beast the same trick that worked on Sun and Neptune wasn't nearly as effective on the experienced professors and it soon became clear to the two hunters that the creature was tiring. Its wounds along with the number of fights were beginning to show signs of strain as the beast's strikes began to grow sloppy and predictable, to the point where not even a single blow landed. Deciding enough was enough the creature knocked back Port and tried to flee, only to be tired up in nearby chains as Glynda used her crop to restrain it. The beast roared in frustration as it attempted to break free of its restraints but was too exhausted to muster any strength. Giving a weak growl it fell to the ground as a cautious Glynda and Port approached it, seeing the beast unconscious Glynda sighed and got out her scroll, "Headmaster we have a problem."

Unknown to the two professors high above all of them two red glowing eyes narrowed as it watched the newborn get restrained before being airlifted away. The red eyes never left the airship as it watched the aircraft carry its kin to a large building on the cliff face. Snarling it left the area and melded into the darkness as the prey began to gather, there were too many to hunt…at least for now.

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><p>"Ozpin? Ozpin!" cried a male voice.<p>

Ozpin sighed as he turned his chair back to the screen, "yes Councilmen?"

"Not only did you allow the White Fang to lead Grimm into the city but you knowingly kept such a dangerous individual in your own school. We can only be thankful that there were no lives lost during its capture," scorned the angry councilmen.

"Of that we can agree on Councilmen," replied the headmaster.

"You've left us with no choice Ozpin. The Vytal Festival tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens. Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council and together have decided that the best action is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event," informed the councilmen.

"Thank you, Councilman. Our Kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that the event runs smoothly and safely as possible," replied Ironwood.

"And we thank you, General," responded the councilmen.

"Will that be all?" asked Ozpin.

"For now. But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion about your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports over the last few weeks have left us somewhat... concerned and as for your 'experiment.' We will leave her in your care for now but if she endangers our people again you will put her down, do we make ourselves clear?" demanded the councilmen.

"Crystal," came Ozpin's frosty reply.

With that the councilors hung up leaving Ozpin to stare at the image of Ironwood on his screen, "this is the right move, Ozpin. I promise, I will keep our people safe, you have to trust me," said the general before he too hung up.

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><p>Yang groaned as she opened her eyes, her head feeling like she'd head-butted a rolling Boarbusk. Taking a look around her the blonde saw that she was in the hospital bed with a heart monitor beeping quietly in the background. Hearing the door open she sat up and saw Blake and Weiss enter the room, both giving a relieved smile as they saw her.<p>

"Yang, how are you feeling?" asked Weiss.

"Urg I've got a monster headache but other than that I'm all good," replied the brawler.

"That's a relief it was really touch and go there for a while," said the heiress.

Yang took a quick look around before she frowned, "what happened to me and where's Ruby?"

Her teammates' relieved expressions dropped into ones of worry as each stared at the other, silently questioning who would go first. Sighing Blake took a step forward, "Yang how much do you remember before you got injured?"

Yang's frown deepened as she began to recall what happened, "Grimm were attacking the city and one of them caught Ruby by surprise. Everything after that is blank."

Blake nodded, "you nearly died Yang, the only reason you didn't is that someone performed emergency first aid. In fact Ruby probably thought you had and so she…got angry and we had to take drastic measures," replied the Faunus cryptically.

"What do you mean Blake? What happened to Ruby?" said Yang fearfully as she climbed out of the bed.

Weiss gently pushed her back down on the bed and said two words Yang never wanted to hear again, "stage five."

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><p><strong>Done, seriously guys you didn't think I'd really kill off Yang did you? She's way too fun a character to write. Was Red OP in this chapter? Yes. I was trying to think how strong something would have to be for Ozpin to be weary of it, don't worry though she won't be completely OP now. The idea was that stage five is a monster in every sense of the word, so Red won't just instantly walked over everything now. I'm really sad that I didn't get to put Raven in but I couldn't figure out how she would fight so I left her out.<strong>


	37. A Test Of Wills

**Hey guys sorry for taking so long to update but you know the drill, workload and that. Also this chapter was very annoying I rewrote it three times and I'm still not satisfied with it. Awe well hope you guys enjoy it.**

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><p>The two staff of Beacon academy turned as the door to Ozpin's office slammed open and an injured blonde stumbled in, ignoring the supporting hands that were offered by her two teammates. Using her crutches she approached the headmaster and just met his gaze as Ozpin placed his coffee down, already knowing the cause of the visit.<p>

"Miss Xiao Long, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he greeted with a sigh.

Yang frowned as she glared at him, "where is she?"

"Miss Xiao Long, show some respect to the Headmaster," scolded Glynda.

"It's quite alright Glynda, she is understandably angry," dismissed Ozpin, easily before turning back to Yang. "Miss Rose is currently restrained in the Grimm holding cells and being monitored by Prof. Port and Oobleck until we can fix this."

"What's being done to bring my sister back?" asked Yang, leaning forward in her chair.

"We currently have our best analysis, aura and medical experts going over the data you recovered," informed the headmaster. "Unfortunately it's a slow progress as none of them are used to Earth terminology, still I'm confident that given time we can help her. We already have a couple of theories that could work."

"Which are?" prompted Weiss.

"In basic terms we heal the damage done to Miss Rose by her aura, at the very least it should give us a chance to bring her back," he explained.

"But…" replied Blake, recognizing the headmaster's tone.

"But to do so we need to restart her Remnant aura and we have no idea how the two auras would react with each other or even if there is any Remnant aura left in her body after this debacle. We could end up making the situation worse than it already is," informed Glynda.

"Have you tried it yet?" said Yang, curiously.

Ozpin shook his head, "no we wanted you to decide on this due to the inherent risks to your sister. You're the only family member who is aware of Ruby's condition and so the decision falls to you Yang."

"I want to see her," demanded the brawler.

"Very well follow me," sighed the headmaster as he left the office and lead them through the Beacon halls to professor Port's classroom.

The trio of students looked around in confusion before Ozpin walked over to Port's table and typed a code into the desk phone, the members of RWBY gasped as the blackboard split apart to reveal a doorway. Motioning them to follow the headmaster walked down the hallway and the students saw many different forms of Grimm caged in cells.

"What is this place?" whispered Weiss, shocked that the school had such a place on campus.

"This is where Prof. Port keeps his Grimm until he needs them for a live demonstration, he requested it to be built so he didn't need to go out hunting before every lesson," answered Ozpin as they approached the two teachers.

They two Beacon professors turned to face them as they heard the group approach them, "ah girls, welcome to my Edgar Hole," greeted Port.

The three girls just nodded dumbly and stared at the professor with expressions of disbelief on their faces, maybe they weren't giving the professor enough credit. Especially if he managed to capture all these Grimm alive by himself, maybe his stories weren't complete lies after all, that thought made all of them flinch.

"Any change?" asked Ozpin.

Oobleck shook his head, "it's just continuing to growl and struggle against its restraints. None of the features have disappeared but her condition appears to have stabilized at least."

Yang's eyes widened at this and she rushed up to the nearby cage before feeling tears well up at the sister of what was once her sister. Her entire body was covered in jointed white bone armour with red runic tattoos glowing along her body. Her face had been covered up by a menacing looking half masked that revealed nothing but her hate filled red eyes, the lower half of her face caked in dry blood and visible fangs being displayed as she snarled at the brawler.

One of her hands had a large hole in it, like something had impaled it and was covered in dried blood. She was restrained by a large number of chains that had been both bolted and wielded in place at the back of cage, which just screamed overkill to the blonde. The only thing that seemed to be the same was the resilient red hooded cloak that still clung to her protectively, a little dirty and a couple of shades darker but otherwise intact.

Taking a deep breath she turned to Ozpin, "let's do it."

The headmaster nodded and prepared to go into the cage, only to feel Yang grab his shirt, "I want to be the one to do it," she informed him.

"Miss Xiao Long that creature is very dangerous, it is too risky to allow you anywhere near it," he frowned.

"You said we don't know how it will react, Ruby's aura might respond better to a familiar aura then a stranger's," argued the brawler.

Ozpin glanced at the restrained creature before sighing and turning back to her, "very well Yang but I am going in with you and you will do exactly what I say if things go wrong, understood?"

The brawler just nodded and was helped into the cage by Ozpin as she walked up to the creature, her body outlined in a faint yellow glow. As she placed her hand on the creature's head a smoky black aura erupted from it and the cage was surrounded by two pulsing forces fighting for dominance; a yellow sun and a deep darkness, each growing stronger with each second.

Yang looked down at the snarling face before her and closed her eyes, "for it is in passing that we achieve immortality…"

The rest of her worlds were drowned out by a howl of pain and anger coming from the creature and the observers watched as the brawler swayed on her feet as she finished. Opening her eyes Yang met the same snarling face struggling against its restraints to bite her. A feeling of despair rose within her as her legs gave way and collapsed onto the ground.

"You did all you could Yang, it was a slim chance to begin with," comforted Ozpin as he helped the student to her feet. "Don't worry we're not giving up just yet."

As they all left the hidden chamber none of them noticed the tiny cracks growing on the creature's face mask, nor the wound on its hand beginning to close up.

* * *

><p>The red hooded figure walked through the dark forest, following the sounds of a soft weeping echoing across the woods. Finally reaching the source she looked down and saw a girl curled up in a fetal position, sobbing into her hands.<p>

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault. I'm not weak, please stop it," chanted the girl.

The figure stroked the girl's head, causing her to look up, "what are you sorry for?" she asked the girl.

"I…I killed her, she's dead because of me," replied the girl.

"Who is?" pressed the figure.

The girl just shook her head, "I…I don't remember. But they won't stop blaming me, the whispers, they're everywhere. Please make it stop!" begged the girl.

The figure placed a red outlined hand on her shoulder, "I can't do that, only you can stop them. They're lying, ignore them and focus on me. Focus on what's in front of you right now and they'll go away."

The girl stopped sobbing as she looked up at her, "who are you?" she asked.

The figure giggled softly, "a simply question with a not so simple answer. The correct question is, who are you? The answers are one in the same."

The girl frowned, "my name is…my…name…is…" her voice trailed off as a frown of confusion crossed her face.

Seeing the girl struggling the figure sighed and grabbed her by the hand as the landscape changed to reveal an odd looking building with numerous children wondering in and out of it. Looking around the girl frowned as she felt a strange sense of familiarity overcome her, she'd been here before. Feeling something heavy weighing down on her back she grabbed it with practised ease to reveal a red and black scythe mechshift in front of her.

"What…what is this?" she asked, looking at the figure.

"That is our scythe, we made it during our time here. Tell me, what is her name?" responded the figure.

The girl frowned, "I don't know."

"Try, don't think about it and just say the first thing that comes to your mind. Now what would you call her?" replied her companion.

The girl looked at the scythe in her hand, "Crescent Rose."

The figure clapped softly, "correct, now why did you call her that?"

The girl put the scythe back into its sheath, "the blade reminds me of the moon."

"And Rose?" asked the figure eagerly.

"To…to…remind me of…something that was important to me…a…a reason to fight," struggled the girl.

The figure nodded, "and where are we?"

Looking around the girl's face furrowed in concentration, "a school…a combat school…my uncle teaches here…Signal Academy!" exclaimed the girl.

The figure applauded again before it grasped her hand and the scenery changed to another building and they were now standing on an asphalt field. Looking around she saw a group of teens playing volleyball on a nearby volleyball court. The girl again felt the twinge of familiarity in her body at the sight of this and turned to face the hooded figure.

"What is this place?" she asked in confusion.

"This is the school you went to," answered the figure.

"But I went to Signal, how could I go to two places at once?" argued the girl.

"How, indeed?" muttered her hooded companion as she turned to watch the game.

"Tell me, do you recognize those two?" she asked, pointing to a male and female teen high fiving each other.

The girl watched them for a few moments before a spike of pain lanced through her skull as the answers began piecing themselves together in her head, "that's…that's me!"

Suddenly memories began rushing into her head as she watched each of them and instantly she was surrounded by the same bright red outline as her companion. The hooded figure walked up to her as the environment changed back to the dark forest, their twin red glows illuminating the night.

"Who are you?" repeated the hooded figure.

The girl turned to her with a fierce expression of determination on her face, "I am the remnants of Ruby, the remnants of Laura. I am the Red Reaper."

"Welcome back Red," greeted the hooded figure before it began to disappear into rose petals, starting from the bottom up, Red just stared in confusion as these rose petals were absorbed into her body.

"Red, I'm sorry," apologized the figure as her body dissolved, leaving only the head remaining.

"For what and who are you?" replied Red.

"Fragments and pieces, a relic of the past now gone. A collection of lies that was used and abandoned," answered the figure as it finally disappeared into her body.

Frowning in confusion Red's aura outline faded and she headed deeper into the forest, following her instincts and arriving at a clearing. She growled as she saw the familiar sight of oily shadows watching her as she approached.

"**You're not broken? How odd, still it's too late for you now. I told you I was your future and now** **I'm almost whole**," commented a dual layered voice.

Turning to the speaker Red saw a masked shadow staring at her with red glowing eyes, "what…are…you?" gasped the reaper as the shadow gave her a toothy grin.

* * *

><p>Yang glanced down at her scroll as she opened up the files Ozpin had given her, wanting her to take another look at it. Apparently he hoped that she would be able to pick up some of the Earth terminology after he found out that Ruby had talked to them about her home, there was little chance of that happening and they both knew it. Still she appreciated what the headmaster was trying to do, keeping her busy and trying to let her help in curing her sister. Sighing she placed her crutches on the floor before lying down on the bed and began reading the scroll.<p>

**Recovered remains of the first scientific study of aura awakening, personal log of researcher Nikoli Khrushchev. All other data destroyed during their facilities quarantine failsafe activation, attempts to recreate this experiment have all failed. The gas's formula has yet to be rediscovered.**

_Day 1-5_

_These poor souls have no idea what they are in for, we told them that they just needed to stay in this room for 20 days and they'd walk out free men. I understand the need to develop better weapons against the capitalists but bioweapon's always leave a sour taste in my mouth. Still at least they won't be missed, political prisoners rarely are. _

_The gas has been added to the subject's chamber and so far no usually activity had been observed in the subjects either physically or mentally. The subjects appear to be happy with their current situation and converse with each other often. It would appear this 'bioweapon' is not as deadly as we were lead to believe, I've conversed with my fellow researchers and they agree. Whatever we are adding to this chamber is not what our superiors told us._

_# Day 4: Conversation topics appear to be getting increasingly dark, talks of traumatic events in the subjects past are now common. A possible side effect of the gas perhaps? The experiment will continue as planned._

_Day 6-9_

_Subjects are beginning to display signs of paranoia, refusing to talk to each other and often attempting to betray their comrades in an attempt to gain the staff's trust by whispering 'secrets' into the microphones. Needless to say these attempts are wasted, none of us wish to attract the wrath of our superiors. So far it appears the gas is indeed having on effect on the mental stability of the subjects, no physical deformities are present yet._

_Day 10_

_There was an…incident today with the subjects. At 0600 one of the subjects began screaming non-stop for over three hours. The subject continued to try and scream but the only succeeded in making small squeaking noises, leading us to believe he had torn his vocal cords. What disturbs me was the reaction from the rest of the subjects…or rather the lack of one. They showed no interest or care in their comrade screaming right next to them and just continued whispering into the microphones, those damning whispers. I can still hear them, even when I've left the observation room I still hear them in my head._

_This job is beginning to get to me, I keep seeing things, oily shadows dancing along the walls. Maybe I'm just suffering from a lack of sleep. I'm going to request a transfer to a different unit tomorrow, hopefully I'll catch the Commissar in a good mood._

_Day 11_

_My request for a transfer was…denied. According to the Commissar my skills are 'too valuable for the experiment to give up.' There was another incident today, another subject began screaming before his comrades stuck paper along most of the windows and destroyed all light sources, plunging their room into darkness. There was an almost animalistic growl heard in the microphones before the screaming was cut off abruptly, I don't know what I find more disturbing, when they didn't react or when they did. _

_Whatever this gas is, it is clear that it is having a horrific effect on the subject's mental state. So far no physical changes have been recorded aside from the self-inflicted torn vocal cords however due to the subjects blocking out the light any future physical changes will be hard to record. At least they've stopped whispering into the microphones, so why do I still hear them? Why do I still hear the whispers?_

_Day 12-13_

_Nothing to report and I mean literally nothing to report. No sounds, no movement, in fact the only reason we know they're still in there is due to the oxygen consumption. The microphones are checked hourly but so far no faults have been found. Some of the other researchers are getting worried, they fear the gas has finally started to kill the subjects, good reddens I say. On a personal note I swear I saw glowing red eyes in the subject's room, staring at me before disappearing. Perhaps my lack of sleep really is starting to catch up to me but with the nightmares each night, sleep is getting harder to come by._

_Day 14_

_Oh god, how could so many things go wrong in one day? My colleagues decided to open up the chamber to examine the subjects, only to find two of them dead. The cause of death? Cannibalism. They were torn apart by the fellow subjects and eaten, however this doesn't make sense as they had 5 days' worth of untouched food rations. It was almost as if they killed them for simple amusement, the subjects then displayed an almost pack like behaviour while fighting off their guards. The gas must have done something to their bodies, they displayed feats of strength no human is capable of naturally, even with the flight or fight response active. Five soldiers were killed trying to restrain the remaining subjects as they were dragged away for medical examination. _

_It was here when we discovered the subjects had developed an incredible resistance to sedatives, we pumped them with enough to kill an elephant! Unfortunately another two of the medical staff died in the process of realizing this. As of this moment we have no idea how the gas gave them such an immunity and it is unlikely we ever will thanks to our superiors. The Commissar informed us that our leaders aren't happy with this delay in the experiment and ordered us to place the subjects back in the chamber. He wasn't telling us everything though, I know what that look on his face meant._

**#This has been confirmed by our most recent test on the VIP, new procedures will have to been developed to capture any Ferals alive.**

_Day 15_

_Only another two hours until I'm dead, I should be panicking, but honestly after what I saw today this whole facility needs to be destroyed. There was apparently a 'leak' in the facility's containment storage, meaning everyone here has been exposed to small amounts of the gas we were flooding the subjects with. I checked those failsafe systems myself before we started, there is no way they could of accidently 'leaked', someone had to of turned them off. Someone who has been wearing his gas mask non-stop since he got here, the Commissar. _

_I wasn't going to let him get away with it, so I killed him. He…he was a threat! The whispers told me so! I did what I had to but then…the last surviving subject… he was watching me as I did it, smiling the entire time. I…I snapped. I grabbed the Commissar's gun and stormed into the chamber before pointing the gun at his head. As he calmly looked at me I asked him, "what are you?!"_

_His eyes began glowing red as he gave me a toothy smile before replying…_

"Yang come quick! Something's happening to Ruby!" cried Blake as she slammed the door open.

Dropping the scroll the two teammates rushed out of the dorm and headed to the holding cell, neither noticing a green haired girl watch them leave before grabbing the discarded scroll with a frown. Flicking through it Emerald smiled and began copying that data to her own scroll before heading back to her own room, Cinder would want to see this.

* * *

><p>The masked shadow walked up to Red and causing the reaper to back away in fear, "<strong>have you forgotten so easily? We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind."<strong>

The numerous oily shadows began to surround Red and they all spoke as one in their whispery tone, **"we are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go to the nocturnal haven where we cannot tread. We are the monsters that monsters fear. We are Ferals."**

Red swallowed before looking up defiantly at her shadowy doppelganger with a determined expression, "well that's good to know," she smiled, causing the all shadows to freeze and look at her.

As they stared at Red they all saw a vibrant red outline surround the reaper as her eyes narrowed on the masked doppelganger, "because if I trapped you before that means that I can put you back in your cage!" she snarled and threw a punch at her opponent.

The masked shadow's eyes widened as it was sent stumbling back a few feet and growled as it saw the aura outline surrounding Red, "**so **_**she**_** interfered after all, did she? I should have known she wouldn't disappear that easily."**

Red didn't respond and vanished in a flash of rose petals as she activated her semblance, reappearing behind the shadow with a round house kick to the head. The doppelganger grinned as it anticipated this and grabbed Red's leg, slamming her into the ground before kicking her while she was down. Crying out, the reaper tried to sweep kick the shadow off its feet only to see the doppelganger jump over the kick and back up a few steps. The surrounding oily figures just watching the fight between the two without so much as a twitch in either direction.

"**You can't beat me Red, or have you forgotten the abilities of Earth aura?**" it taunted.

"No ability is infallible," she replied, getting back into her combat stance.

"**Ah yes Ozpin's words of wisdom, a smart man. However unlike that Captain, I know you better than you do yourself. I know when you will feint, attack, flee, I know every strategy you will use. You cannot win," **it informed her.

"Then I guess it's time to think up some new ones, isn't it," grinned Red as she got into a footballer stance.

Using her semblance she crashed tackled the shadow to the ground, the red and black duo kicking up dust as they rolled along the ground. Red head-butted her counterpart only to receive a cut along her arm as the shadow's hands morphed into a familiar set of claws. Growling, the shadow's strength intensified as a black smog surrounded the pair and Red struggled to hold back the claw that was slowly approaching her throat. Using her other hand Red grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at the doppelganger's eyes, blinding it and causing it to reel back as she sent another aura infused punch into its head.

As the shadow recovered Red saw a small crack along its masked face from her last hit and smiled, "where's all that confidence now? Looks to me like your cracking under the pressure."

The doppelganger just reached up to touch its mask and glared at Red as familiar runic tattoos and white bone amour appeared along its body, making the reaper instantly wish for Crescent Rose to be here as she backed away. The armoured shadow charged Red and forced her to dive to the side as her opponent landed with a dull thud before turning to look at her with hate filled eyes.

"**Why?! Why did she help you?! Why do we both have to suffer so you can play make believe?! It's all your fault!**" raged the shadow as it rained blow after blow on her, only narrowly missing Red's head as she semblanced away.

"**I won't kill you, oh no, I'm going to make you watch as I rip your friends and family to shreds. Maybe then you'll know the pain we've gone through because of you!" **it spat and ran at Red.

The reapers eyes narrowed in anger at this threat as memories of all her friend's happy smiles filled her head, her aura changing to a bloody red instead of the vibrant shade at the thought. Grabbing the incoming claw with her hand, Red bit down on it, causing the doppelganger to screech in pain as it felt sharp teeth cut through its bone armour with ease. Ripping its hand from Red's mouth the armoured shadow leapt backwards and saw the bone armour disintegrating all over its body, the red runes' bright glow growing more dull by the second.

"That's not going to happen, I still need to apologize after all," growled Red as she looked at her opponent in the eye.

The shadow stepped back as it saw the black cat like eyes stare at her and the reaper gave a toothy grin, revealing her own sharp canines, "why are you so surprised? You're me after all. You're power is part of me as well, I'm simply taking it back."

The doppelganger's eyes widened as it watched the oily shadows surrounding the two hiss and retreat into the darkness as the reversed colour of the forest returned to normal, light beginning to chase the darkness from the woods.

"This is my mind and I'm ordering you to go back to your cage!" commanded Red as the light intensified and the shadow growled as it retreated to the tree line.

"**So the Red Reaper has finally developed her fangs, has she?** **No prison lasts forever and you are not the master of that power, Red. You better hope you don't open my cage again or next time it will be you who is locked up**," it warned in a strangely calm tone before dissolving into nothingness.

Red just sighed and collapsed to the ground as the outline faded, closing her eyes she enjoyed the now peaceful sounds of the forest, recognizing the numerous Remnant and Earth bird songs sounding in the distance. That was until she heard someone yelling and felt herself being shaken by what must have been a madman. Groaning she opened her eyes and saw the welcoming sight of Yang's worried face staring at her.

"Ruby you're okay," sobbed the blonde as a grateful smile carved itself over her face.

Red just hugged her sister and stared at her friends in the room with her, "yeah sis I'm fine, sorry for making you worry."

* * *

><p>The masked shadow paced around its prison like a caged animal, searching for some sort of flaw to exploit but like always finding nothing. Once again it was sealed up tight from all but outside influences and the chances of Red accidently opening it up again were slim, especially with <em>her<em> now watching it.

"**So I lost,**" sighed the shadow.

"It's your own fault you know," said a cheerful voice.

Speaking of the devil there she was standing just outside the prison boundary and watching it, her face still hidden by that accused red hood.

"**You have some nerve showing up here. I must admit I never thought gloating would be something you'd enjoy, Ruby," **it growled.

"It's sad, in a way I actually feel sorry for you. Besides I don't have any right to that name anymore than you do to yours," replied the female voice from the hood.

"**Shut up**," hissed the shadow.

The hooded figure continued on none the less, "nearly all the pieces that made up _her_ were taken, to the point where only this embodiment of hatred and anger remains in front of me. Tell me, why do you continue to hide behind that mask?"

"**Don't act like you're any better! Why don't you take that hood off hmm? Oh right I forgot, how silly of me,**" it snarled and glared at her while she flinched and gripped the edges of her cloak.

Seeing this the shadow smiled, "**I seem to recall someone forcing her memories onto our dear Red, if that wasn't anger and jealousy guiding your actions then what was it?**"

The hooded figure sighed sadly as she turned to look at the ground, "I admit it, I was scared and angry. Who wouldn't after _it_ happened? I saw her with them and I just couldn't take it, I wanted to become whole just like you."

The masked doppelganger paused in shock at this confession, "**so why did you help her? Doesn't it hurt you every time she's called that name? Or every time you see her with them? You nearly succeeded in becoming whole, she was even taking your name as her own. You were a single step from returning to the world but instead you helped her. Why did you stop?**"

The red figure looked up in surprise at the lack of spite in the shadow's tone, replaced instead by a genuine confusion and curiosity. Sitting down on a nearby tree she took a deep breath and looked up to the whole moon in the sky, watching it bathe the forest in its light.

"It did at first," she admitted. "But then she did something that even I didn't expect, she started helping others without my influence. Then she nearly broke and I watched her guilt eat away at her, it turned her from an obstacle into what she really was, a scared girl who had no idea what to do."

Turning back to the shadow, she stood up and walked over to it, "when she saved Yang that wasn't me, that was all her. Even after everything Yang did, she still didn't hesitate to protect her and Ruby's aura responded to that, without my help. It made me realize something."

"**And what was that?**" scoffed the doppelganger as the two heard a roar of thunder and storm clouds grew in the night sky.

"She has more right to that name then I do, she is Ruby just like she is Laura," answered the figure as they both felt the first drops of rain hit them.

"**Don't you dare say that! She is nothing but a fake, a puppet dancing to **_**their **_**strings**," it snarled.

A sad laugh echoed from the red hooded face, "is she the puppet or are we? Red was made from fragments but the very name implies that it was incomplete. So what happened to the pieces that weren't used? Do they disappear?"

Reaching up to her hood the figure pulled it down to reveal a sad looking looking Ruby, only her her face had cracks in it as if it was made from broken glass. Replacing the hood over her head the figure backed away from the shadow, "Or do they live on. Under the illusion that they are the predecessor's? Was she dancing to _their_ strings or was it us all along? Forcing our desires, our strengths, our memories onto her, shaping her into the person she is now? Were we tricked into turning her into exactly what _they_ wanted, turning her into the Red Reaper? Was our longing to be whole again used to manipulate us?"

"**You're lying!**" it hissed.

"Am I? Why would we have not been absorbed like the rest of the fragments during her birth? You fought her, didn't you find it odd that she could use Laura's aura with needing you?" she asked.

"**That was a fluke, nothing more. She doesn't even have true control over it like I do**," replied the shadow.

"There is a difference between controlling power and being controlled by it, take that mask off and maybe you'll see that. If you refuse to see the truth in front of you then you'll never leave this prison again…I'll make sure of it," threatened the hooded figure as it walked away.

As it watched her leave the shadow reached up to its cracked mask as it pondered what she'd said before growling as another surge of rage filled it and returned to its pacing. Yet the seeds of doubt had began to take root in its mind and refused to go, it wasn't the puppet, was it?

* * *

><p><strong>Did you guys enjoy the red herring I threw in a couple of chapters ago :) Anyway volume 2 is done and dusted and hopefully this answers some of the questions in the earlier chapters. Unfortunately I'm not really happy with how the chapter turned out in the end but I decided that I'd kept you waiting long enough. Also for people who realised, yes this chapter was based off the Russian Sleep Experiment Creepypasta and if you have time you should read it, it is actually quite good.<strong>


	38. Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

**I'm alive! Sorry for the long wait but my workload has been piling up plus I wasn't really in the mood to write after that debacle that was the last chapter. I also had an idea for another RWBY story and I wanted to know if you all would read it. It would be a RWBY and D-Grayman crossover set in the D-Grayman universe, the idea is that the Earl tricks either Yang or Ruby to summon the other as an Akuma (any fan of D-Grayman would know what that means :(... ) and either breaks free from the Earl's control (if innocent can work with a Noah then why not an Akuma?) or is forced to work for him. If I do make it however I would need your support and suggestions as right now I only have the bare bones of a possible story, I could probably release the first chapter within a week to let you guys get a feel for the story before going all out. Anyway let me know what you guys think and as always thanks for the support.**

**I don't own RWBY even though it's a steal and I could make a killing...and some other mercenary pun I can't think of right now...enjoy.**

* * *

><p><em>The reaper stood on the rooftop overlooking the sleeping city, her enhanced vision making the darkened night appear as bright as day as she searched for her prey. It had been hunting in her territory for too long and had already killed several people but now the hunter was about to become the hunted. Seeing motion below her the reaper saw a fearful blonde walking down the empty streets, constantly scanning for threats. Making sure the girl left the area safely the reaper then turned her attention to the others, who were in position and waiting for the ambush. <em>

_Seeing they were ready she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as a loud bellow echoed across the quiet streets, sending animals scurrying to cover while the others got ready for a fight. The silence was maddening as they waited and waited but nothing happened, causing everyone to get a bit restless as they remembered what would happen if they failed._

"_Come on where are you?" muttered the reaper as she approached the roof's edge, looking for a sign and only to growl in frustration._

"_YOU COWARD SHOW YOURSELF! THIS IS MY HOME! MY TERRITORY! YOU CALL YOURSELF A HUNTER BUT YOU ARE NOTHING BUT WEAK PREY! DON'T LIKE IT THEN COME AND PROVE ME WRONG!" she bellowed before letting out another roar, much louder and fiercer then the first._

_There was a brief moment of silence that was soon broken by an angry roar in response that brought a smile to the reaper's face as she saw something rapidly approaching her, "I see you heard me."_

"Ruby? Ruby wake up! We have a doctor's appointment!" cried a familiar voice as Red felt herself being shaken awake.

Groaning she opened her eyes to see an annoyed Yang swinging Fort Ruby as its ropes began to loosen, causing the reaper to instantly leap off the bed unless it fell under her weight. She then glared at the blonde who simply smiled and shrugged before pointing to the bathroom and throwing Red her clothes. Grumbling the reaper headed into the bathroom to get changed and sighed as she got ready for another series of early morning medical tests. It had been a week since she recovered from her rampage and ever since Ozpin had been making her have daily checkups to ensure it didn't happen again, needless to say even though she understood the necessity of the tests she still hated it.

"Stupid tattoos, refusing to fade," she grumbled, catching her reflection in the mirror.

While all the other traits had faded over time like her eyes and hair, the tattoos stubbornly remained and not only that but they were still working. The poor doctor had nearly called security when they started glowing due to Red losing her temper during one of her many checkups. So far aside from glowing when she got mad the runes hadn't done anything else but Red had long since given up on the hope that they'd disappear, in fact she suspected the real reason for these continued tests was to see what effects it had on her.

Following Yang to the infirmary Red sighed as she prepared for more tests, all the while not giving her recent dream anything more than a passing notice. She'd been having many like that since the week started and had long since gotten used to the strangeness of them.

* * *

><p>General Ironwood looked around at the scene before him with disdain, eventually crossing the police tape and heading into the crime scene. He grimaced slightly at the torn up remains of a body in front of him and turned to the alley's blood splattered surroundings, noting the blood trail leading from the street and up the wall.<p>

"What have we got?" he asked the nearest officer with a tired sigh.

"Sir! The victim's name is Ashley Grey, a tiger Faunus that recently moved here from one of the outlying settlements. Like the other six her body was hidden on the roof before the wind blew it down into this alley where it was then discovered. She had been torn to shreds by sharp objects and the cause of death was a bite to the jugular, everything points to the classic signs of a Grimm attack," informed the officer.

"Time of death?" replied the general.

"Again it's been estimated to be between 12 and 3 two nights ago, the same as the others," answered the man.

"So we're looking for a nocturnal Grimm that not only escaped the purge during the Breach but is extremely intelligent and skilled enough to hide the body after a kill," mused the general in a worried tone. "Search the area! This is the first time we've found a body near the place of death, the Grimm must have left some trace behind, hair samples, a broken tooth, anything to help us identify what we're dealing with here."

The surrounding officers all nodded and the forensic teams began to search the area while the general and the other officers left so they didn't containment the area. However as Ironwood was waiting he noticed something odd, a woman he had seen walk past the area not ten minutes ago was back. He frowned as he watched her walk into a nearby café and take a seat, his frowned deepened as he noticed her movements. They were far too efficient, too disciplined and far _too military_.

"Do either of you to have a plastic bag?" he asked the two officers surrounding him.

They just gave him a confused look before handing him an empty plastic bag which he took before gesturing them to follow him. As they walked past the woman Ironwood popped the bag, making a loud crack right next to her. His gaze narrowed as he saw her instinctively reach for her waist, exactly where a sidearm would be kept. With his suspicion confirmed the general approached the table with his escort before sitting down in the chair opposite her.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit here do you miss…" prompted Ironwood.

"Mary. Mary Sue. And who might you be sir?" replied 'Mary', who to her credit didn't show any signs of worry at the two police surrounding her.

"Ah aren't you well mannered, my name is James Ironwood it's a pleasure to meet you," smiled the general.

"Likewise but I'm afraid that seat is reserved for my boyfriend," said the woman with an apologetic tone.

Ironwood's smile simply grew, "really? What's his name?" he tested.

"John. John Smith," answered the woman without hesitation.

"You both have such interesting names as well as an odd accent. Clearly not from Atlas, or Vale for that matter. Tell me what kingdom did grow up in?" he queried.

"Outside the kingdoms, our home wasn't that great so we moved to the city," she replied with a shrug.

"Tell me 'Mary' did you ever receive military training?" continued the general.

The woman just frowned, "no why do you asked?"

"Well you see once you join the military some of the instincts from your training are impossible to break. Your every movement is for maximum effect and efficiency, you radiate an aura of discipline that is near impossible for another solider not to pick up on," informed Ironwood.

"I wouldn't know," replied 'Mary.'

"Of course but did you know? When an unexpected stimulus activates the flight or fight response, soldiers will often reach for their side arm even when they are unarmed. It is instinctive behaviour that is drilled into recruits from day one and is near impossible to break," he smiled holding up the burst plastic bag.

"Now 'Mary' I would like to know what you are doing spying on a crime scene and please stop reaching for the knife you have so cleverly concealed in your skirt," ordered the general as his smirk dropped and the two officers moved to restrain the woman.

Unfortunately the general never got an answer to his question as the minute the officers tried to restrain her she flipped the table in his face before grabbing one of the officers arms and sending him crashing to the ground. The other quickly reached for his side arm only to have a knife thrown into his arm, causing him to drop the gun and cry out in pain. Not waiting for either Ironwood or the other officer to recover the woman sprinted down the streets with the general growling as he sprung to his feet, following close behind. Only to see a car pull up beside 'Mary' to which she jumped in and the vehicle began speeding down the highway.

Realizing the chase was lost Ironwood put out an alert for the vehicle on the police scanners before heading back to the crime scene where he found the wounded officer being treated by his counterparts. The general looked at the knife that had been placed in an evidence bag and frowned as he made out two words engraved into the blade; 'Semper Vigilans.'

"General we found something at the crime scene that you're going to want to see," informed one of the forensic teams.

"Good at least something's gone right today," replied Ironwood as he followed the man and stopped in shock at the sight that greeted him.

Carved into the very pavement below them he saw five jagged claw marks clearly caused by the Grimm and his eyes widened as he recognized the markings. Shaking his head and giving another tired sigh the general turned to the officer.

"Inform the Vale council that we know what we're dealing with and that we now have a suspect for the murders. Also prepare my Bullhead I have to get to Beacon immediately," he ordered the officer.

As the officer ran off Ironwood sighed, "sorry Oz but this for the best."

* * *

><p>Red groaned as she rubbed her arms that were still itching from all the recent blood tests and silently cursed Yang for ditching her at the infirmary but stopped as she heard two familiar voices. Following them she saw Sun and Neptune surrounded by a crowd of students from every school and began working her way through the crowd, trying to figure out what was going on.<p>

"The guy was bleeding on the ground with a large chunk of his leg bitten off and was being chocked by the beast. We couldn't just leave him and in that instant we knew what we had to do," exclaimed Neptune.

Sun the stepped forward to take over the story, "so with no regard for our own safety Neptune and I charged in and WHAM! I slammed my staff into its head and sent it flying through a nearby wall, causing it to collapse while Neptune helped the guy up."

Red just stopped and frowned as hazy memories from her rampage began to surface before she grabbed her scroll and dialled two numbers. As her trademark smile grew on her face Red hung up and walked up to the two members SSSN's makeshift stage, completely unnoticed as everyone was focused on their story.

"But then the dust cleared and the beast walked out, its wounds appearing to be nothing but an annoyance to it. We both just stood there watching it while it did likewise, giving us a hateful glare before it _grew_ armour," said Sun as he turned to his teammate and paled as he caught sight of a red glowing reaper smiling at him.

Misinterpreting his friend's pause Neptune spoke up, "suddenly it leaps into the air towards us, missing us by inches and crushing the ground beneath its feet. It must have had the strength of ten men, no ten Ursi! Right Sun?"

The blue haired boy turned to his friend and frowned as he saw the monkey Faunus' pale form staring at something before hearing a chilling voice from behind him, "oh no don't stop now the story's just getting interesting."

Swallowing fearfully Neptune slowly turned around and saw the fuming reaper look into the crowd before giving them an worryingly innocent smile as she approached, "now what are you two doing?"

The two boys shrunk under her glare as they tried to look for a way out, only to remember the crowd watching them. It certainly wouldn't do their reputations any favours if they ran from a 15 year old girl with this many people watching them, they could already hear the jokes being made at their expense.

"We were just telling the students about the…err…creature that attacked during the Breach incident," explained the monkey Faunus, only to sweat as Red's grin grew wider.

"Oh really? You mean the creature that we were told not to talk about under any circumstances by both Ozpin and Ironwood? Now what on earth could have been so important that you two would disobey the Headmasters of two academies?" she pondered in an innocent tone.

Before either of the two could answer a voice from the crowd spoke up, "is it true Ruby? Did it really have the strength of ten Ursi?"

Red paused as she tried to piece together her hazy memories, "hmm…more like 20," she announced.

"Wait if it was so powerful how did you all take it out?" asked another skeptical student.

"Oh we didn't, it took Port and Goodwitch to finally bring it down by throwing a car at it and tying it up in chains. These two idiots were knocked unconscious shortly after they rescued that injured guy," explained Red.

"Hey! We nearly died and I have the scars to prove it," argued Neptune as he unbuttoned his shirt and showed them all a long scar running across his chest.

"They're so brave," gushed a female member of the crowd.

The two members of SSSN grinned and high fived each other before turning back to Red, "that's why we disobeyed them," said a smiling Sun.

"Oh? And what do Blake and Weiss think of this?" asked the reaper with raised eyebrows.

"Well they don't actually know about this," admitted Neptune before they both froze as they realized what he'd said.

"But you wouldn't tell them would you?" asked a frantic Sun.

"Well I never did payback you guys for tricking me into that bet with Yang but I'm feeling generous, tell you what give me ten lien each and I swear I won't tell them," promised Red as she held out her hand.

"You're evil incarnate," grumbled Neptune as they both gave her the money.

Red just grinned at them, "when you hang around Roman long enough you tend to pick up some of his tricks. Besides you two had it coming, right Blake? Weiss?"

"Sun!" "Neptune!" growled the two members of RWBY as they emerged from the crowd and surrounded the two boys.

"Blake, Weiss, what are you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be studying in the library?" greeted a fearful Neptune.

"Oh I called them here, after all I didn't want them to miss out on this riveting story," explained Red to the horrified duo as she cheerfully pocketed the money.

"Sun, Neptune, we need to have a little chat with you," hissed Blake as she and Weiss drew their weapons.

The two boys paled and immediately bolted for the nearest exit with the two members of RWBY following close behind, "bye guys have fun in the dog house, come back when you understand what a secret is," waved Red innocently as two male cries of pain echoed from the main hall.

"Ruby Rose please report to the Headmaster's office immediately," announced the PA system, causing Red to frown before heading off.

* * *

><p>"General you're making a mistake, just look at her tests. She isn't showing anymore signs of Feral transition then I am," growled Goodwitch.<p>

"I have seen the tests and that is the only reason I am doing this instead of eliminating her outright," replied Ironwood.

Glynda just glared at him, "she is our student you have no right to-"

"I have every right Glynda, the council has given me permission to do as I see fit to ensure the Vytal festival is safe for everyone. That includes jurisdiction over Beacon students," interrupted the general.

"This is madness, Headmaster please talk some sense into him," begged Goodwitch as they all turned to Ozpin.

The man just put down his mug and looked up to his friend with sad eyes, "James, she's just a girl. A child. She has suffered enough as it is."

The general's eyes softened, "I know Ozpin. Believe me I know but I must put forth the safety of our people ahead of Miss Rose's desires."

"Qrow and Taiyang will find out, you can't hide this from them," warned the headmaster.

"Then we both better start digging our graves then shouldn't we, after all I'm not the only one who kept secrets from them," replied Ironwood.

"James, please don't do this," begged Ozpin.

Ironwood just shook his head, "I can't, these orders come from not only me but the Vale and Atlas councils as well. They wanted her to be eliminated and this was the only compromise I could make, it's either this or the firing squad."

Ozpin just gave a defeated sigh as he pressed a button on his desk, "I need Ruby Rose in my office immediately."

"You're making the right decision Ozpin," assured the general.

"An innocent soul, no matter how strong it might be, can only take so much abuse before it breaks. Pray that you are not the one to do so General," warned the headmaster coldly as the door opened.

"You wanted to see me Headmaster?" asked Ruby as she walked in only to be restrained by two of Ironwood's guards.

"Ruby I'm sorry," apologized the headmaster as she struggled in the guards grasp, her tattoos starting to glow.

"Ruby Rose you are hereby under arrest for the suspected murder of Ashley Grey and six others. You will be detained until further notice or proven innocent," announced the General before nodding to the guards whom dragged the shocked reaper out of the room.

"She's innocent General, you're making a mistake," said Ozpin.

"I pray that you are right, for her sake," replied Ironwood as he left the room.

"Headmaster are you alright?" asked Glynda as she watched him look down at his mug in sadness.

"Glynda contact Qrow and Taiyang, tell them I have something important to discuss," he sighed.

"Of course Headmaster," replied Glynda.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there we go hopefully that was a better quality then the last chapter, anyway feel free to PM or review what you think of the other story idea.<strong>


	39. Rock The Boat

**Well here we go, last update for a while I'm afraid. I'll try to get my work done as quickly as possible but I won't even be able to start writing the next chapter for about to weeks. Keep in mind we don't really know a lot about the legal system in Remnant so I made some assumptions so please be kind about that. Next the RWBY+D-Grayman crossover, I decided not to write it since I didn't have enough time. Still the idea's out there now so maybe some with time will write it *hint hint* Anyway sorry about that and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

**I don't own RWBY it belongs to Roosterteeth.**

* * *

><p>Red didn't move as she was dragged into the General's large airship, her mind still trying to comprehend what had just happened to her. Looking up she saw her captors dragging her into a small cell before groaning as she was roughly thrown in and plunged into darkness as the door slammed shut, her eyesight slowly returning as soft lights began illuminating the cell.<p>

"Well look at what the cat dragged in, never thought I'd see you in here Red. Did you come all this way for little old me?" commented a teasing voice.

The reaper picked herself up from the floor and glared at the crook as her tattoos bathed the cell in a red light before Roman saw a hint of black as a mask appeared on her face and he was push up against the cell wall, "well someone's a little frisky today. What's the matter Red? Did someone steal your cookies?" he teased.

She just punched him in gut before dropping him and walking to the opposite end of the cell, leaving a confused Roman to stare at her. "That's all? I assumed after your display last week you wanted my head. Sure the good General probably wouldn't have allowed it but you could have at least roughed me up slightly, clearly you're not very good at this interrogation business Red," frowned the criminal in confusion.

The reaper just turned to face him with an equally confused look on her masked face, "**you think I'm here to question you?**"

Roman blinked at this response, "of course, why else would you be here? The big scary monster's come to intimidate the answers out of me, although bonus points for the mask and voice that was a nice touch."

"**Mask?**" muttered the reaper, blinking in confusion as she brought a hand up to her face.

Sure enough she felt a smooth but hard surface covering the top half of her face and immediately began panicking, 'what's going on? The tests said this wasn't possible! Did the shadow break out again?'

_Why are you so surprised? You're me after all. Your power is part of me as well, I'm simply taking it back…_

As the memory disappeared Red's eyes widened and she smiled before immediately taking deep breaths, trying to get her heart rate to a normal pace while Roman just watched her in amusement. Thinking back to Qrow's lessons Red closed her eyes and felt back for the two currents that ran through her body, causing her new cellmate to watch intrigued as her mask dissolved into nothing and the tattoos grew dull.

"Roman I'm in not here to question you and I'm in no mood for your games, so just shut up and stay to your side of the cell and we'll get along just fine," sighed Red as she used her cloak as a makeshift bed.

The crook laughed hysterically as he stared at her, "wait so you were really locked up? Oh boy now that's something. So what are you in here for then Red?"

"Killing a man who asked too many questions," she growled and turned to face the wall.

"Ouch now that was uncalled for, well like it or not Red we're stuck together so we might as well get used to it," informed Roman with a smile.

"Talk about cruel and unusual punishment," grumbled the reaper, hoping her cellmate would stop talking.

Whatever witty remark Roman had ready died unspoken as they both heard the door to their cell open as General Ironwood walked in, upon seeing this Red let out a low growl that Roman instantly picked up on. Ironwood just gave the crook a suspicious glare before turning his attention to the reaper in front of him, giving her a blank stare as she glared at him.

"Well Miss Rose do you have anything you want to tell me before the trial?" asked the general.

"Gee willikers mister! I sure am sorry for smashing all your robots and making a mockery of your military in front of all of Vale I promise I've learnt my lesson," replied Red in an innocent voice.

"I see and what about you criminal? Has your time in solitary confinement loosened up your tongue?" he sighed, turning to Roman.

"On the contrary General, could you get rid of my cellmate? I quite liked the peace," answered the crook with a grin.

"Very well," replied Ironwood as he turned back to Red. "Your trial will begin in two hours, I hope you are ready for it."

The general then turned to walked out only to pause in the doorway, "Ruby be careful in there both the Atlas and Vale councils want your head and…I'm sorry."

Without another word the door to the cell slammed shut leaving the two inmates with expressions of shock, each for different reasons.

"You really were arrested weren't you?" asked Roman after a brief pause without any trace of his usual smug tone.

"Look who finally started using his ears," grumbled Red as she walked back into her corner.

"Red this is no joke, if the councils really are gunning for you then you're in trouble. Damn what did you even do to get them so angry?" replied the crook.

"Nothing I'm innocent!" she cried.

Roman's expression softened as he sighed, "and you think that matters to them? Remember what I told you earlier Red? In this world you ether die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain and the council members have been alive for quite some time."

"What are you saying?" whispered the reaper fearfully.

"Did you ever wonder why, even though I was Vale's most wanted, I never got a bigger reaction then a couple of cop raids every now and then? Or why I'm only getting solitary confinement to get me talking? I'm a thief and a damn good one. I learnt long ago that the contents of a man's mail box can be fair more valuable than that of his wallet," lectured the criminal.

"Everyone has skeletons in their closets Red, it's just a matter of finding the right ones. Our dear Councillors are nowhere near the saints that they make themselves out to be," he continued before grinning at her.

"Red do you remember the deal I proposed a while back?" asked the crook.

"Yes and I believe I already gave you my answer when we blew apart your Paladin," replied Red as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Well if you reconsider I might be able willing to help you out of this mess," grinned Roman.

"How?" she asked, sceptically.

"Remember those skeletons I talked about? Well say one of those dirty little secrets just happens to get out in the middle of the courtroom, it would not only discredit the council members but force the trial to be postponed," he answered.

"And how does angering the people responsible for my fate help me?" question a confused Red.

"If the session is postponed you'll likely be put back in here with me and if certain code words are said during the trial my associates will know to extract me, when they come for me we will also bust you out," explained the crook.

"So Red what'll it be? Face the wrath of the Council or join the winning side?" asked Roman, leaning forward with a satisfied smirk on his face.

* * *

><p>"Yang wait for us!" cried Weiss as the two of them tried to catch up to the blonde.<p>

The trio eventually stopped in front of Ozpin's office where they all heard shouting and the sound of glass breaking, "YOU BASTARD!" roared a male voice.

Recognizing the voice Yang's eyes widened and she quickly yanked the door open, just in time to see none other than their headmaster go flying across the room before slamming into the wall. Blake and Weiss immediately drew their weapons and charged the blonde man who had attacked Ozpin but were both blocked by another man who wielded a weapon that made their eyes widen. Using skill that even surpassed Ruby's the man quickly disarmed the two members of RWBY before sheathing his scythe and turned to face Yang with a surprised look on his face.

"Hello Yang it's good to see you again," greeted the scythe wielder, causing the blonde man to spin around and face her, a happy smile replacing the angry expression earlier.

"Dad? Uncle Qrow? What are you to doing here?" asked the blonde.

"That's her dad?" whispered Weiss fearfully.

"At least we know where she got her temper from," replied Blake in an equally hushed tone only for both of them to look up as they heard a small chuckle escape Qrow's lips.

"Does she know?" questioned Taiyang, turning to Ozpin.

The headmaster simply nodded as he picked himself up from the ground, "your daughter has known about Miss Rose's condition for quiet sometime. She has been helping me keep you two in the dark until now."

Taiyang nodded, "I suspected Yang was hiding something when she started answering the letters I sent to Ruby."

"How'd you know it was me? I thought I answered those pretty well," replied Yang in confusion.

"You did and if it wasn't for the fact that I recognized your handwriting then I wouldn't have even noticed," answered her father as he walked up to her. "Yang I want to know the truth, why did you help Ozpin cover this up?"

Blake and Weiss just watched as they saw the fearless blonde brawler of Beacon begin fidgeting and refusing to meet her father's gaze, "I was scared at how you two would react," she admitted, ashamed.

Both Qrow and Taiyang gave a disappointed sigh, "Yang you had to know that you couldn't keep it a secret forever. Eventually you girls would have to come home at the end of the year and what would you have done then?" questioned Qrow.

"I arranged it with Ozpin that we could stay on campus grounds during the break, as far as you two would know we would be staying to get some extra preparation done for the next term," explained Yang.

"Did you really?" muttered her father, sending Ozpin another angry glare.

"Yang, Ruby is my niece and Taiyang's daughter, did you really think we'd hurt her?" frowned the scythe wielder.

"Yes," replied Yang seriously, causing both her family members to stare at her in shock. "I was her sister and I nearly killed her when I found out, if you two had the same reaction then she wouldn't have stood a chance. I wasn't going to take that risk. I lost her once, I'm not losing her again. I promised mom I would look after her."

"Yang…you're not the only one who promised," sighed Taiyang as he hugged his daughter.

The group just watched the embracing family members with a smile on their faces before everyone heard Ozpin's scroll go off. Frowning the headmaster got out his scroll and his eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the contact calling him and briefly left the room. When he walked back in everyone could feel an aura of anger surrounding him despite the blank expression on his face.

"The Councillor's changed the time of Miss Rose's trial without telling us," he announced.

"When is it?" asked Qrow.

"Now," replied the headmaster as he turned the office TV on and they all saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the courtroom.

"If you'll excuse me I have a court trial to attend," growled the headmaster as the door to his office slammed shut.

"I haven't seen him this angry in a long time," frowned Qrow.

"Indeed somehow I think this trial isn't going to go how the Councillor's wanted it to," grinned Taiyang while the rest of RWBY rest looked at each other in confusion.

* * *

><p>"Get up we're leaving," ordered the general as he and two guards walked into the pair's cell before cuffing her hands together.<p>

Red just looked at Ironwood with an amused expression as she held up the hand cuffs, "ooooh bondage, remember General my safe word is cookies."

Ironwood just glared at her while Roman burst into laughter, "you would do well to mind your tongue in the courtroom. I don't think you realize just how serious your situation is Miss Rose, when I said the Councils wanted your head I meant it literally," informed the general.

The reaper just froze as she looked up at him with a fearful expression before turning to glance at Roman, "but I'm innocent!" she cried in distress.

"Don't convince me Miss Rose, convince the people of that, the Councils can't even touch you if you have the support of the people on your side," replied Ironwood and they left the cell before stopping as they both reached the courtroom doors.

Giving a tired sigh he turned to face her again, "Ruby I'm not telling you this as the General of Atlas' military or as the Headmaster of Haven but rather as a friend of Ozpin's…If all else fails than plead guilty, Ozpin and I will make sure you don't get the death penalty regardless of what the Councils want."

"Why do you care? You're the one who locked me up in the first place," hissed Red.

"Believe it or not I never wanted this, I just wanted you to be isolated somewhere I could keep an eye on you until an official investigation could be completed but the Councillors decided otherwise. I just wanted to protect my people from a possible threat, something you of all people should understand," replied the general.

Red just looked up at him in surprise as Ironwood pushed the doors open before she was blinded by the flash of many cameras going off in rapid succession. The reaper was then shoved by her guard and walked into a round stand in the middle of the room, which the guards then chained her hand cuffs to.

Red was silent as she stared down at her hands, watching as they clenched and unclenched in anticipation through the cuffs. All around her she heard the people taking her seats and glanced up to see cameras stationed across the room, 'clearly they want this to be a publicized event, lucky me. I hope Yang isn't watching, or any of the Ruby's family for that matter.' The sound of the judge clearing his throat echoed across the chambers as the crowd took their seats and silence filled the courtroom.

"Welcome everyone, today we pass judgment on the huntress in training Ruby Rose who has been accused of the murders that have been plaguing our city for the past week. The Vale and Atlas councils will be serving as jury for the trial," announced the judge as numerous silhouetted shadows appeared in the closed off jury box.

A soft mummer ran through the crowd at this, to have the council members attending a court session wasn't just odd it was unprecedented. Meanwhile Ironwood's eyes widened and a frown crossed his face as he gave a worried look to the door before taking out his scroll and briefly excusing himself from the room, returning with a relieved smile on his face. Red simply kept her gaze downwards as she heard the judge speak up.

"Does the defence have an attorney?" he asked and Red just shook her head in silence.

"The attorney is running slightly late and will be here momentarily, Your Honour," announced the general and causing Red's eyes to widen as she stared at him.

'But I never booked an attorney, I doubt I could even afford one anyway,' thought the reaper in confusion. The judge just frowned but nodded and soon everyone heard the sound of the chamber doors opening, causing Red to break out of her stupor and turn to see the welcome sight of Headmaster Ozpin walking in.

"My apologizes Your Honour, I'm afraid that I was misinformed of the time of the trial," said the headmaster, giving the jury box a quick glance before approaching Red's stand. "Thankfully I received a call to inform me of the change and rushed over as quickly as possible."

The judge just nodded in understanding and following the headmaster's gaze with a frown on his face before announcing the start of the trial. Feeling a hand gently squeeze her shoulder Red looked up to see Ozpin give her a reassuring smile and felt tears of gratitude begin to well up in her eyes.

"Don't worry Ruby just let me do the talking and everything will be fine," promised the headmaster.

She nodded and stayed silent as he presented his case to the court, "Your Honour, we have numerous evidence proving Miss Rose is not responsible for these killings, including medical information, witnesses and a proven alibi."

"The Councils were all aware of this already Ozpin, our verdict remains the same," replied a councilmen.

"I see if that is the case then can you please repeat it in front of the court Councilmen, because obviously you gave the evidence a serious examination before deciding the fate of Miss Rose," asked Ozpin, only to get silence as the crowd turned expectantly to the jury box.

The silence was quickly broken as the judge's hammer echoed across the courtroom, "I would like to remind the councilmen and the defence that the jury members are strictly observers and nothing more. Neither side is allowed to interact with the other, do I make myself clear?"

"Of course Your Honour," answered Ozpin.

The headmaster then continued his case and even showed testimony from all her teammates and yet even Red could tell it was a waste of breath. The council members seemed determined to have her guilty and Ozpin's proof might as well have been told to a deaf man for all the good it did. 'Ironwood was right they really do want my head,' she realized and her tears weren't able to be held back any longer as yet another shouting match erupted between Ozpin and a councilmen. The reaper quickly glanced at Ironwood to see him equally angry as he watched the exchange, remembering what he'd promised she took a deep breath.

"Your Honour, I wish to confess," whispered Red, causing Ozpin's eyes to widen as he turned to her.

* * *

><p>"Don't worry Yang, Ozpin will get her out of this," encouraged Weiss as the remnants of team RWBY as well as Qrow and Taiyang watched the trial rapidly devolve into a shouting match with concern.<p>

"…I wish to confess," announced Ruby, not looking up from her hands.

"What did she say?!" exclaimed the heiress.

"Ruby please…no," chocked out the blonde as her father embraced her while Qrow just stared at the screen in silence.

"You wish to confess?" repeated the judge.

They all saw the reaper's tattoos begin giving of a soft glow as she turned to face the courtroom, giving her teammates a clear view of her tear stained, angry expression. Ruby eventually came to face the council member's jury box and gave a triumphant smile.

"Yes Your Honour, I wish to confess. I wish to confess about a secret the Councils have been keeping over their citizens," smiled Ruby as she turned to face the cameras.

"People of Remnant listen up! You are not alone! For years the Councils have kept the existence of a separate world hidden from you for years. Imagine a world that has no Grimm, a world where the only danger is the people inhabiting it. A world that is thriving while you all continue to waste away in these pitiful excuses you call a Kingdom," she shouted eagerly.

"Ruby what are you doing?! Stop this before you make it worse for yourself!" cried Yang as she shook the TV screen.

Ruby then turned to face the rest of the crowd and everyone was silent as they listened to her with mixed expressions, "'but then why would they not tell us?' You might be wondering. Is it because then people would see a thriving world and begin to resent the Council's lack of progress? Or maybe, it's because we are the darkness you fight every day, you see we don't need Grimm on Earth…"

"You don't think she's going to…" trailed off Weiss as they prayed for Ruby to end this madness before it got more out of hand.

They watched the screen as Ruby's tattoos flared to life before the reaper was surrounded in a pure black aura and a chillingly familiar half mask appeared over her face, "**because we are the Grimm.**"

"HOW?! THE TESTS SAID THIS COULDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN!" screamed Yang in fear as they watched numerous guards point their weapons at Ruby.

Both Blake and Weiss frowned as they stared at the screen, "hold on Yang, something's different about her this time," informed the Faunus while Weiss nodded in agreement.

"In what way?" questioned Qrow, curiously.

"She seems far more docile and clearly isn't becoming a rabid monster, in fact take the mask off and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference," replied Blake.

Not a sound could be heard through the TV speakers as Ruby slowly turned to face the crowd before turning to the council members again, "**does it scare you? Knowing that humans can be just as evil as Grimm? At least we on Earth acknowledge it while you all ignore it, tell me how is it just to accuse and punish someone, let alone a child, for a crime without any supporting evidence? You're clearly just the paragons of justice aren't you council members?"**

"Silence you monster!" demanded one of the councilmen.

Ruby just laughed in her dual toned voice, "**oh I'm a monster am I? Name calling how very professional of you councilmen. Well then if I'm a monster, then perhaps you should speak to me more softly. After all monsters are dangerous and right now people are dying like flies.**"

"Looks like my little girl has grown some fearsome teeth while we've been gone right Qrow?" laughed Taiyang.

Qrow's frown just deepened at this threat while the rest of RWBY's jaws dropped open, "is she trying to make this worse?!" questioned Weiss.

"Enough! Does the accused wish to confess or not?" ordered the judge as he slammed his hammer down.

A silence again fell upon the courtroom as Ruby's mask disappeared and the aura faded, "yes, I'm guilty, guilty. Is that want you wanted to hear councilmen?" she shouted, keeping her gaze fixed on the jury box.

"You admit you murdered the seven victims?" questioned the judge.

"No of that I'm innocent, I'm guilty of a far more horrible crime. I'm guilty of simply being from Earth," hissed Ruby.

"What's she doing?" questioned Blake with a confused expression that was matched by her two teammates.

Qrow and Taiyang just smiled, "clever girl," muttered the scythe wielder while the remainder of team RWBY stared at them.

"Just watch," replied Qrow with a cryptic smile.

"You're not on trial for coming from Earth," scoffed one of the councilmen.

"Oh really? So explain to me why I was charged and found guilty without any evidence? How all the council members found themselves 'randomly' selected for my trial? And finally why the council members from the different kingdoms are the jury of a Vale matter? All you want is me either locked up or dead! You want a scapegoat for your own incompetence!" shot back Ruby.

"That is ridiculous, everything that comes out of your mouth is a barefaced lie! How dare you try to discredit us!" roared a councilmen.

"Actually as Headmaster of Beacon I can prove that there is indeed evidence to suggest that Miss Rose is not responsible for the murders however this was never even acknowledged before the trial," informed Ozpin to the shocked crowd and judge.

"Please, these medical test you performed are clearly wrong, just look at what she did earlier," scoffed the councilmen.

"You mean how I didn't go on a rampage and try to kill everyone here? How I proved that I'm in control of my power and not the other way around?" replied Ruby, cocking her head to the side.

"I thought I told you to be SILENT!" yelled the angry councillor as low murmurings were heard coming from the crowd.

"ORDER! THERE WILL BE ORDER IN THIS COURTROOM!" shouted the judge as he repeatedly slammed his hammer on his desk and a silence descended on the chambers.

The members of RWBY all watched with raised hopes as the headmaster then approached the judge, "Your Honour, Miss Rose deserves a fair trial and it is clear that the council members were biased against her from the start. As such we demand a retrial."

The judge frowned before he nodded, "in light of recent developments this court session is postponed while a new jury is found, until then the accused will remain in custody of General Ironwood until further notice. Dismissed!"

The screen then turned back to the outside of the court building with Lisa Lavender before splitting into two as her co-anchor Cyril appeared in the studio on the left half, "well Lisa we can honestly say none of us were expecting that outcome. What do you make of this 'Earth' business?"

"Yes Cyril, while the idea of another world is ludicrous to the extreme the fact of the matter is that we have both Miss Rose's aura colour and Semblance recorded and neither of them matched the display shown in the courtroom today," replied Lisa with a frown.

"Whether this means that what she said is true or not is still up for debate but it does point some very accusing fingers at the current councils. Even now our news teams are beginning their search for anything related to this 'Earth.' Tell me Lisa how could this effect the next election if this proves to be true?" asked Cyril.

The reporter's frown deepened as she heard this question, "well Cyril we can safely say that the members of the current councils will suffer severe setbacks in their popularity due to this fixed trial and cover up. Whether this will cost them the election though remains to be seen."

The screen the shifted to focus on Cyril as he turned to face the camera, "you heard it here first folks, stayed tuned to see what we find on this 'Earth' phenomena next week."

Yang just turned the TV off before collapsing back on her seat, the tension literally draining away from her body, "well… that was a thing."

* * *

><p>Leah frowned as she saw the doctor run towards her with a panicked expression on his face, "Doctor I take it there was a problem with establishing contact with what's left of our forces trapped in Vale?"<p>

Her companion skidded to a stop in front of her and would have collapsed to the ground in exhaustion if the captain hadn't rushed to support him with her shoulder, "no the long range communication equipment was successfully installed in our facilities through out the kingdoms. We've finally recovered from the White Fang attack," he informed her through rapid panting.

"Then what is the problem? You would not have been running around the compound like a recruit that insulted their drill sergeant or called me back on one of my few days off if everything was going according to plan," replied Leah.

The doctor finally caught his breath as he straightened up and led her to the communications room, "the situation in Vale has deteriorated to unbelievable proportions, you are aware of the murders that occurred throughout the city?"

Leah nodded, that had made the news in the other kingdoms giving them valuable insight into the current events of the city. "I'm aware of them Doctor, I doubt there is anyone in our work who isn't," she informed him.

Her companion frowned as he walked over to one of the rooms consoles before showing her the latest reports from one of their newly re-connected Vale outposts, making the captain's eyes widen in shock as she began reading through it, seeing her reaction the doctor nodded as he turned to face her with a Grimm expression.

"Doctor are these reports accurate?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so Captain. One of the Vale outpost commanders got suspicious of the murders and sent an agent to investigate them, to which it was determined to be the work of a Feral. Unfortunately the agent was caught snooping by General Ironwood and had to be extracted," informed the doctor.

"I don't know whether to reward the officer for taking the initiative while out of touch with command or to punish him for acting without authorisation. Have the Atlas outposts double their security staff and lay low for a while, we don't want the Atlas military to catch wind of us," sighed the captain.

"It may be too late for that I'm afraid," he stated with a frown as he brought up a video file.

"What do you mean Doctor?" replied Leah.

Her companion just started the video and the captain found herself watching some sort of trial with a very recognisable figure cuffed in the middle of the room. She was about ask what was going on when they both heard Red's voice from the speakers.

_People of Remnant listen up! You are not alone..._

The captain's blood drained from her face as the VIP continued until she activated her Earth aura giving the two of them a good look at her newly formed mask before the screen cut out, "Doctor please tell me that this isn't as bad as I'm afraid it is."

"I wish I could Captain but with the possibility of corruption in their Councils, the story spreading through the Remnant media like wild fire. That mixed with the display the VIP provided and well... It's only a matter of time before something slips through the net, either from our end or their's," warned the doctor.

"Get the commander on the phone, tell him...we have a worse case scenario," ordered the captain.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there we go Red certainly decided to go out with a bang didn't she? So do you think Red chose to deal with Roman or not? And now Earth isn't as secret as anyone would like, I wonder how this will effect things now hmm?<strong>


	40. The Hunt Begins

**I'm back! So sorry about the very long hiatus but my assignments came out of nowhere followed by exams after that. I've got a short break for now though so I can get back to writing. Also a question, if I need to go on hiatus do you want me to post it in this story to let everyone know or would you all find that annoying?**

**I don't own RWBY if I did Yang would make more puns.**

* * *

><p>"Well forget rocking the boat Red. You sank it!" laughed Roman as she was thrown back into their cell.<p>

"You know about that?" asked Red as she got up from the floor.

"Red, all of Remnant knows about that. The guards haven't stopped talking about it since your trial, the 'Earth Conspiracy' seems to be the newest hot topic. I must say that was a brilliant move on your part," he said with a grin.

"Well it's like you said, 'everyone has skeletons in their closets, it's just a matter of finding the right ones,'" she replied with a shrug.

"Indeed it looks like you didn't need my help after all but you do realize that even with a new jury there is still a chance that they'll find you guilty, especially after your threat against the Councilors. Since you refused our deal I can't do anything if that comes to pass," warned Roman as she took a seat opposite him.

"That won't be a problem," answered Red with a wave of her hand.

"Oh and why is that?" asked the crook with an intrigued expression.

"Roman why do you think I went out of my way to create such an uproar about the Council? I knew that it would spread throughout the media, that was the point. The more people that know about it the longer it will take to find someone to be an unbiased member of the jury," grinned the reaper.

"True but that's only postponing the problem not solving it," argued a frowning Roman.

Red gave a low sigh of disappointment at his response, "Roman think about it, I'm not the one responsible for these murders, so the longer I stay here the better my chances are that I'll be proved innocent. After all how could I be the murderer if I was locked up in prison when it occurred?"

Her cellmate just blinked before he shook his head, "see Red it's times like this I'm reminded of the reason I like you. You were dealt the worst hand possible and yet still come out on top, you would have made a brilliant criminal."

"Not sure whether that's an insult or a compliment," she frowned and a silence descended on the two inmates as Roman saw her face gain a peculiar expression.

After a couple of minutes in silence Roman just sighed, causing Red to give him a confused expression as she turned to face him. "What is it Red? I can tell you want to say something and we've got nothing else to do here but talk," said the crook as he gave her an amused smirk.

"Roman you should enter into a plea bargain," replied Red as her cellmate just gave her a confused expression.

"I know you weren't the one behind the Breach, someone else was the mastermind behind that and mostly likely the women that helped you escape the Dust til Dawn incident," explained the reaper as Roman's eyes widened a fraction before reverting back to normal as his usual smirk appeared on his face.

"Now what makes you say that?" he replied in his usual sarcastic tone.

"That's for me to know and you to find out Roman," she smirked as a frown crossed his face.

"Very well Red, assuming what you're saying is true. Why should I take a plea bargain?" asked Roman, for the first time sounding serious.

"Because you'll live, isn't that a good enough reason?" shot back an angry Red.

Seeing his disbelieving expression she elaborated, "Roman, you and I both know that she's only using you. So what happens when you've outlived your usefulness? You'll be a threat, a loose end that needs to be tied up."

Red gave him an almost pitying look as she continued, "you always work alone, never get attached to people, never have friends. All they are to you are allies that are loyal only to their next paycheck."

"I don't need your pity Red! Besides in my experience attachments only lead to weaknesses and in my line of work that will get you killed," snapped Roman as his calm mask began to break.

"You're wrong," denied a calm Red in a stark contrast to the angry Roman. "Attachments, be they friends or family don't make you weak, in fact they're the strongest things at our disposal. I can always count on them to bail out if I get in too deep, just look at my trial. The Headmaster himself came to testify for me."

"Yeah and look how effective that was," snorted the crook as he gestured to their cell.

"Roman do you know how my team was able to rescue me from that Earth organization?" asked Red, ignoring him.

"Enlighten me," he snarled.

"Adam helped them. A person who had no obligation and knew he would likely get killed if he was caught helped my team bust me out. Why do you think he did that? You might think forming attachments is a weakness but they're the only reason I'm still alive," informed the reaper.

Roman's angry expression faded into a confused one as he breathed out a sigh, "why do you care what happens to me Red? You've made it quite clear what you think of me."

"Because I don't like owing someone, if you hadn't given me the idea in the first place I never would have survived that trial. Whether I like it or not I owe you Roman and it would leave a sour taste in my mouth if I just left you at _her_ mercy," explained Red as Roman frowned and kept his gaze focused on the ground.

"I know who my friends are Roman. I know they will support me no matter what, even when the odds are stacked against me and I'd do the same for them. So let me ask you Roman Torchwick, who will you turn to when you need help? Who can you count on when your world comes crumbling down around you? What will you do Roman Torchwick when _she_ comes for you?" she finished.

"If you're so sure in your friends then where are they Red? Seems to me like you've been abandoned here," growled the criminal.

Before Red could respond they both turned as the cell door opened and the reaper's eyes widened in recognition as she saw the familiar ginger walk in. Upon seeing her Penny quickly rushed over to Red and embraced her in a crushing hug.

"Ruby! I convinced the General to let me see you, he said I'm allowed to visit you whenever I want isn't that great!" cheered the ginger.

"Sure is Penny, it's good to see you again," smiled Red. "Any chance that Yang or the others will come see me soon?"

The ginger frowned and shook her head, "the Councilors won't let anyone come visit you they say it's too dangerous, not even the General can disobey them."

Red gave her friend a confused look, "then what are you doing here? You could get into a lot of trouble for this."

Penny gave her a smug smile, "well when I talked to the General he said that given the previous history you two have with each other he decided that you needed a guard to make sure there was no fights and so I volunteered."

"Got to give the General credit he's smarter than I thought, bypassing the Council like that," commented Roman.

"Penny give my thanks to Ironwood when you see him next and tell him I accept his apology, also do you think you could give Yang and the others a message? Tell them not to worry and please for the love of God don't do anything rash," asked Red.

Smiling the ginger walked back to the door, "sure thing Ruby, I'll come visit you later okay?"

"You mind bringing cards or something? We're dying of boredom in here," joked Roman who could only blink as Penny nodded before the door slid shut again.

"See Roman even now my friends are still looking out for me. Please at least give what I said some thought…while you still have the chance to," pleaded Red.

Roman just matched her frown and didn't say anything as he turned away from Red and looked at the ceiling, an unreadable expression on his face.

* * *

><p>Taiyang growled angrily and Glynda just glared at him meanwhile Qrow and Ozpin just stared at him with blank expressions on their faces. Ironwood suppressed a sigh, he knew they would be angry at him but not to this extent, at least Ozpin had allowed him to talk to them.<p>

"First you accuse my daughter of murder and detain her then you refuse to let her own family visit her cell for the past week. You have some nerve coming here General!" spat Taiyang while Qrow's eyes narrowed dangerously, indicating the rage that was concealed behind his calm mask.

"I am sorry Taiyang but I'm afraid my hands were tied back then, the council members gave me very specific orders and not even I could disobey them," apologized Ironwood.

Ozpin frowned, "'back then?' You make it sound as if the situation has changed. I know you James, you wouldn't say things like that without a reason."

"You're still as perceptive as ever Oz," smiled Ironwood before sighing tiredly as he placed a folder on the headmaster's desk and pulled out a series of photos.

There was silence as the rooms occupants stared down at the by now all too familiar gruesome pictures laid out across the clockwork desk. Ozpin was silent as he examined the pictures before he frowned and got up from his chair to look out over Beacon.

"James tell me, is that what I'm afraid it is?" he asked, softly as he turned back to face them.

Ironwood gave a sad nod, "this is the latest victim of the murders and he was found today when a visitor complained to their hotel about a foul smell coming from the roof. The time of death was estimated to be 8pm…on the day after Ruby's trial."

"Then she's innocent! With this not even the Councils can deny that!" exclaimed Taiyang eagerly but stopped when both Ozpin and Ironwood shook their heads.

"They will just say that it is either one of her accomplices or a copycat murderer, either way they will keep Ruby locked up," informed Ozpin before he gave Ironwood a sly grin. "But you wouldn't have brought this up didn't have a plan James, so let's hear it."

The rest of the people in the room all turned to face the general who began sporting a similar grin on his face, "well Oz as you are aware, thanks to the Councils I was placed in charge of the security for the Vytal Festival and given complete authority to ensure its safety. I think that these murders classify as a threat to the festival, don't you?"

Ironwood then took a seat in front of Ozpin before placing a knife on the desk, causing the headmaster's eyes to widen in recognition as he saw the inscription carved on the blade. Picking up the weapon from the desk Ozpin frowned as he traced his fingers over the inscription and handed the knife back to the Ironwood with a grim expression.

"Semper Vigilans? So this confirms our suspicions that _they_ are finally starting to regain their foothold in Vale but how does that help us?" asked Ozpin.

"Oi Ozpin mind explaining things to me and Qrow, who are _they_? And why does it matter for this murder case?" interrupted an impatient Taiyang.

"It matters because if they are interested in this case then that means we can confirm that we're dealing with a Feral and not some abnormal Grimm. Which raises the question; if we have the only known possible Feral in custody then where did this one come from?" replied the General.

"Feral?" muttered Qrow in confusion. "Is that some subspecies of Grimm? I can't say I've ever heard of them before."

"You would know them as Half Masks," informed Ozpin, drawing shocked looks from both Qrow and Taiyang.

"Impossible! Half Masks are only myths, stories told by parents to scare misbehaving children. Surely you can't be saying Ruby has become one of those mythical beasts," argued Taiyang.

"Half Masks are very real Taiyang, I fought one during my time as a third year and nearly died because of it. You saw her trial didn't you? That was only a weak release of her possible power, not even the full thing and yet the terror it can instill in people is incredible," explained the headmaster.

"Perhaps we should explain from the beginning Headmaster?" suggested Glynda to which Ozpin nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"A couple of months ago the White Fang ambushed teams RWBY and JNPR and succeeded in kidnapping Miss Rose. It turned out they were contacted by an independent organization grew interested in her and her abilities, they agreed to an alliance if the White Fang could get her for them," she narrated to the two hunters.

"But after handing Miss Rose over to them the two organizations had a falling out. One of the members of the White Fang contacted team RWBY and helped them use the confusion from a White Fang raid to infiltrate the organization's compound and rescue their teammate," continued Glynda.

"However this organization wasn't a simple group of citizens angered at the government but was actually a black ops military group from Earth. Through happy coincidence team RWBY was able to obtain a large amount of data from their systems as well as confirm that their means to transport here to Remnant was destroyed…or so we thought," informed Ironwood as Qrow and Taiyang's eyes widened.

"But the fact that they're still operating in Vale means that they have an alternate means of travel to get here or at least communicate with their forces," stated the General as he began balancing the knife on his finger with a frown on his face.

"Are you sure that they didn't just repair their destroyed method from earlier?" questioned Qrow.

Ironwood shook his head, "positive, we have that facility on lockdown and our scientists are only now beginning to piece together the remnants from the portal system. I had to call in all the favors I owed people and even with the use of Polarity and Technokinesis semblances we've only just started making progress on repairing it."

"Earth doesn't have the assistance of Aura to help them rebuild it so either they've made an entirely new portal system or they had multiple to begin with. Either way I doubt they are happy with how Ruby handled that trial, they've likely put her on their hit list," he finished, causing Qrow and Taiyang to exchange worried glances.

"What makes you say that General?" asked a confused Glynda.

Ironwood just sighed as he turned to face them, "because she's a loose end. Right now Ruby is our only source of information on Earth and she's already made it clear that she doesn't intend to keep it a secret any longer. In order to stop their enemies from getting any upper hand they will try to silence her."

"How can you be so sure?" replied Taiyang.

"Because if I was the leader of a secret black ops organization that's what I'd do, in fact her prison cell might be the safest place for her right now," replied the General as a silence descended on them.

"Enemies internally and externally, Ruby really didn't make it easy for us did she?" joked Taiyang before he frowned and turned to his fellow hunters. "So what do we do now?"

"There is no way we can protect her from threats from both Earth and the Council, we have our hands full just trying to protect her from the Councils. But that's why you're here isn't it James? You have a way to solve this problem don't you?" replied Ozpin.

"We need to prove Ruby's innocence to the public we do that and the Councils will be powerless and be forced to release her and I know the best way to do so," confirmed the General.

"You want her to catch the Feral don't you?" questioned Qrow with raised eyebrows.

Taiyang immediately stepped forward, "absolutely not! You're not sending Ruby after that monster! If even half the stories about them are true then-"

"Then Ruby will have those abilities at her disposal as well Taiyang. This creature has managed to evade all our attempts to track and catch it, Ruby is the closest thing we've got to an expert on them. She knows their abilities, knows how they think and more importantly…how they hunt," interrupted Ironwood.

"No it's too dangerous! She'll be killed! As her father I refuse to let this happen, I'll hunt the creature down myself if I have to," snarled Taiyang.

"This is the only way we can save her Taiyang as much as I hate to admit it he's right, there is no way the Council can touch the hero that saved Vale. Especially after she was wrongly accused and detained, if the Council did anything to her they'd lose their jobs and they know it," argued the headmaster.

"Ozpin you can't be serious?! If Ruby fights that thing alone then all we will get as a result is her own death!" shouted Taiyang.

"She won't be alone I'll send someone to help her, they've worked together before and are quite good friends," reassured Ironwood.

Taiyang just frowned and turned to face the general, "no offensive to your agent General but I highly doubt that the two of them can take down a creature that even experienced hunters struggle with by themselves."

"They won't be by themselves because I'm coming too."

* * *

><p>Penny's visits became a daily occurrence for the two inmates and a much needed distraction from their verbal sparring, especially since she followed Roman's request and brought them a poker set to play with. Unfortunately the ginger was much too innocent to ever win and it didn't help that both Roman and Red took every opportunity they could to cheat.<p>

"It was statistically impossible for you to win…you must be cheating," accused Penny as she lost another round.

"Oh really? Alright then kid how am I cheating?" replied Roman.

"I…I don't know…but you must be cheating! Right Ruby?" she replied before turning to the reaper.

Red just grinned, "Penny the first rule you need to know if you want to play with us is this; it's not cheating if you're not caught."

"Indeed speaking of which, Red would you please place the card you have hidden in your boot back on the table," commented Roman with a smug smile.

"Only if you do the same," she replied, causing his smile to drop slightly while Penny looked between the two in bewilderment.

"You know Red I've got to ask, why did you decide to risk your life by going against the Councils instead of taking the easy way out of this? You're far too valuable a pawn for _her_ to simply kill you off when she's done and you know it. Do you have a death wish or are you actually insane after all?" frowned Roman as he looked up from his cards.

Red just laughed, drawing both of her opponent's attention, as she put her cards down on the table and a blood red aura surrounded her. The reaper leaned forward and stared at Roman with her cat like eyes, "insane? You think I'm insane for refusing your deal? On the contrary Roman you must be insane to think I would accept it."

"Oh and how do you figure that? Self-preservation is generally a natural instinct for any sane person," replied Roman, seemingly unfazed by her display as he too leaned forward while Penny just looked between the two with a concerned expression.

"Tell me Roman, what do you think the definition of insanity is?" questioned the still glowing Red.

Roman just frowned as he stared at her, "I would assume it's kind of obvious Red. Looneys, psychos, people who aren't exactly the most mentally stable of individuals. People who don't understand the common sense behind risk vs reward and always make illogical choices. That's what makes them so dangerous."

Red nodded before she turned to her friend, "and what about you Penny? What do you think about this?"

The ginger hurriedly put her cards down and squirmed as she became the centre of attention, "I agree with Mr. Torchwick…mostly. They don't understand common sense and go out of their way to defy it, even when logic clearly states that it is the wrong choice. Insane people are bad people who either have a skewed sense of morality or don't have one at all. You can't reason with them and you can't predict them, you can only contain the damage they cause."

"I see," mused Red as she leaned back to her spot on the floor. "So by both of your definitions Huntsman and Huntresses are insane."

Seeing their confused expressions at her conclusion she elaborated, "as Hunters we dedicate our lives to helping others, to protect them at all costs even at the expense of our own lives. Why? It isn't a logical choice, you only need to look at the increasing amount of casualties we suffer each year to see that. So why do we do it?"

"Why does anyone do anything dangerous? Power, fame, riches, glory, the rush of adrenaline," shrugged Roman, uncaringly.

"Maybe for some it is," admitted Red before turning to Penny. "But the majority do it _because_ of their skewed sense of morality. Just because their morality is skewed doesn't mean that they're going to go around and hurt people. Morality can be skewed in both positive and negative fashions, Penny."

"Alright then Red you've made your point, so tell us what is the definition of insanity?" scoffed Roman.

The reaper turned to glare at him before the glow from her aura grew brighter, illuminating the room with a harsh red light. Placing her hand over the deck of cards, Red leaned forward and gave the crook a toothy grin as her sharp canines became visible.

"Insanity…is doing the exact…same stupid thing…over and over again…and expecting things to change. **That. Is. Crazy**," replied the grinning reaper as Roman and Penny felt a threatening atmosphere surround them.

The crook felt his heart begin to beat faster as he backed up until his back hit the wall of the cell, meanwhile Penny got to her feet, ready to restrain Red if necessary. Red just ignored them as she picked up her cards from the floor and her aura outline faded.

"You see, when my friend told me that I thought he was just joking but the thing is…he was right. Everywhere looked, at school, in the streets, the news, even in the history books. I saw idiots doing the exact same thing... over and over and over and over again thinking 'this time is going to be different.' That is insanity and no one is safe from it, not even me," frowned Red as Laura's memories began to surface.

"Afterwards I swore that I wouldn't fall prey to it again, that I wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. That is why I said no Roman and that is why I'll continue to say no, no matter how many times you ask," she finished, giving him a smug smile as everyone grabbed their cards.

"That was a good speech Red, very motivating. Now would you be so kind as to put the card you stole from the deck during it back?" replied Roman with a grin as Red dropped her smug smile and removed a card from her hand.

"And the other one," drawled an amused Roman.

Grumbling the reaper reached into her sleeve and pulled out another card before placing it on the deck as the three of them got ready to reveal their hands. Neither Roman nor Red noticed one of the cards that Red had placed on the deck was missing.

"I raise to *hic* 200," hiccupped Penny, her face hidden by the cards.

"Call," replied Roman and Red with satisfied smirks.

"Four of a kind, read it and weep," announced the reaper.

"Not so fast Red, a straight flush," replied the crook, revealing his hand to a shocked Red.

"The probability of that seems extremely low, unless you cheated," accused Penny.

"Now, now, now, my ginger friend. Remember what we said, it's not cheating if you're not caught," grinned the crook while Red nodded in agreement.

Penny just gained an odd smile in response as she revealed her hand, "I see…in that case behold my royal flush!"

"What?!" cried the other two as they stared at her hand.

That wasn't possible, there was no way she could have gotten that hand! Especially since Red had had the Ace up her sleeve until Roman had called her up on it. Immediately both their eyes widened as they figured out what Penny had done and turned to face the ginger.

Penny just smiled as she claimed her winnings, "like you said, it's not cheating if you not caught."

"The hiccup was faked to make sure we played, wasn't it?" asked Red.

"Whatever do you mean Ruby?" replied the robot with an innocent grin.

"I can't believe it, Vale's most wanted beaten at his own game by a bratty child. I'll be the laughing stock of the whole criminal underworld if this gets out," complained Roman as he rubbed his temples.

Before any of them could respond they all heard the cell door opening behind them and turned to see General Ironwood walk in before turning to stare at Penny and Red, "you two, come with me."

Giving each other a confused glance the two of them followed Ironwood out of the cell and into the bowls of his airship. Red quietly nudged Penny and sent her a questioning look, only to get a confused shrug as she mouthed 'I don't know.'

"Um General…not that I mind the fresh air or a chance to stretch my legs but why am I out of the cell and where are you taking me?" questioned the reaper.

"Not here Ruby I'll explain when we get to my office," replied the general in a hushed whisper as he glanced around him.

Hearing the seriousness in his voice Red nodded as she and Penny were forced to break into a brisk jog as Ironwood picked up the pace. After a couple of minutes of navigating the twisting corridors of the enormous airship the group stopped at a nondescript door before walking in. Red expected his office to have medals, books and relics of old battles for the past or maybe even a large Risk style map of Remnant. Instead she had to keep a disappointed whine from escaping her lips as the door opened to an office that was the textbook definition of Spartan, a simple desk and chairs were present along with an empty book shelf. Taking the offered seats both of them sat in silence and waited for the general to explain what was going on.

"There was another murder victim found today, the time of death was during your imprisonment," he informed them, causing Red's eyes to narrow but otherwise remain silent.

"No sarcastic comment or I told you so?" frowned Ironwood.

"I'm not so petty that I'd joke about death like that General," hissed Red.

He simply nodded his head acknowledgement, "I see, my apologizes then Ruby. However you're aware that until the murderer is caught then the Councils will not let you go."

"Then why am I here? If I'm not being released then shouldn't I be back in the cell?" replied Red in confusion.

"Because you're then only one who has a chance at catching the murderer and stopping them. Besides what better way to prove your innocence then to catch and stop the monster yourself?" answered the general.

The reaper's confused expression only deepened at his response, "what do you mean? Why would I have a better chance than all of Vale's police department?"

"Do you know why I originally suspected you to be the murderer?" asked Ironwood in response as Red shook her head.

Seeing this he continued, "all the evidence that was gathered from the crime scenes indicated that a Feral was most likely responsible for the killings."

As the image of the snarling humanoid Grimm appeared in her mind Red felt a shiver run down her spine, one that was certainly not caused by the cold. Biting down on her lips she forced the images out of her mind and colour began to return to her face as she steadied her panicking breathing.

Ironwood and Penny just stared as she recovered from her panic attack, "Ruby? Are you okay?" asked a concerned Penny.

Red just nodded before turning to the general, "I'll do it."

Ironwood frowned as he looked her in the eye, "Ruby are you sure? After that display I'm not sure you're mentally ready for this."

She just met his gaze with her own, "I won't lie and say that I'm not scared, you would be too if you heard the whispers…felt the rage and madness hiding in its eyes. But I'm not going to let others get killed simply because some shadow scares me."

A sad smile crossed her face, "besides I'm a Huntress not a kid anymore, it's time I stopped being scared of the dark. I'll stop it…even if I have to fight fire **with fire**."

Neither the general nor Penny spoke a word as they stared at Red's masked face, instead watching as it dissolved off her face, "I've made my choice General," she announced, her innocent silver eyes hardening with determination.

Nodding Ironwood pressed a button on his desk and spoke into some sort of intercom system, "you can send him up now."

"Send who up?" asked Penny curiously.

"The third member of your party, Ruby will be his adviser but he will be in charge of you two, understand?" he replied, causing Penny to nod.

"Wait third?! I thought I was going to be the one to hunt it down," replied Red.

"Ruby this task will be dangerous you'll need all the help you can get," stated Ironwood with a frown.

"Don't worry about me Ruby I'm combat ready!" assured Penny with a fist pump.

The reaper gave a tired sigh before shaking her head, "you're insane you know that right?"

A grin spread across the ginger's face, "Ruby did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?"

Red just burst into laughter and offered her friend a hand, "fair point, alright Penny lets catch this monster together."

The ginger just stared at the hand in confusion until the general spoke up with a faint trace of a smile on his face, "you're supposed to shake it Penny."

"Oh! Ok Ruby let's do it!" cheered Penny as they shook hands.

"So who's our third member?" asked the reaper with a curious expression on her face.

"That would be me," announced a male voice from behind them as the sound of a door opening and closing was heard.

Upon hearing the voice Red froze and slowly turned around to see a familiar figure standing before them, looking no different then what Ruby's memories showed. Standing there was one of the two people she had hoped never to meet without Yang and even worse it was the one that taught Ruby everything she knew.

"It's certainly been awhile hasn't it Ruby?" greeted Qrow.

* * *

><p><strong>Well hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Expect the next one in a week if I'm lucky, a fortnight if I'm not.<strong>


	41. Hunter or Hunted?

**Sorry for the wait but this chapter took longer then I expected, anyway I hope you enjoy it. I'm already working on the next chapter but it'll be a while until I'll have time to properly sit down and write it in anything but short bursts.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't have to study so hard...**

* * *

><p>"It's certainly been a while hasn't it Ruby?" greeted Qrow.<p>

'Does he know? No Ozpin said he didn't tell him anything yet, I have to play my cards very carefully,' she thought as colour began to return to her pale face. Swallowing her fear she forced a weak smile on her face and did the most Ruby thing she could think of, she ran up and hugged him.

"Uncle Qrow! It's been so long, how have you been? Kicking the baddies but like usual, right? I bet you were all like-Hooowaaah! Witchaaaa!," she replied in a voice that seemed too cheerful even to her as she did some over the top karate poses.

For the briefest instant Qrow flinched before he returned her hug and began ruffling her hair playfully, "indeed but enough about me, how have you been? Anything you want to tell me?"

"N-no nothing is wrong, everything is totally AOK," hastily answered Red, waving her hands for emphasis.

"Oh really?" mused Qrow with raised eyebrows.

"Ruby, Qrow kno-" began Ironwood only to be interrupted by Qrow's raised hand.

Kneeling down to look at Red in the eye Qrow frowned, "Ruby, do you trust me?"

She wanted to say yes, in fact she should have said yes if she wanted to keep up this charade and yet…she couldn't. The words simply died unspoken in her throat as memories of Yang's murderous rage flashed through her mind and Red just lowered her gaze to the ground, unable to meet Qrow's eyes. 'Just because he was Ruby's family doesn't he'll help me,' she thought as she stepped away from the huntsman.

Qrow just sighed as he stood back up, "after everything that's happened to you I suppose it's only natural to develop some form of paranoia. I just hope that eventually you trust me enough to tell us."

Red's eyes widened as she looked up to him but remained silent as Qrow turned back to the general, "how are you going to find the Feral?" asked Ironwood.

"We'll go to the locations the victims were found and then try to find some sort of clues that the investigators might have missed," informed Qrow.

"Actually I have a better idea, why bother looking for it when we can bring it to us," said Red as everyone turned to look at her. "Ferals are extremely territorial, one of them attacked my team at Mountain Glen simply because it detected me in its territory."

A sly grin grew on her face, "now imagine what would happen if it was challenged directly for control of its territory. It would rush to this intruder to defend its claim."

"And straight into our ambush," finished Ironwood with a smile.

* * *

><p>The reaper stood on the rooftop overlooking the sleeping city, her enhanced vision making the darkened night appear as bright as day as she searched for her prey. It had been hunting in Vale for too long and had already killed several people but now the hunter was about to become the hunted. Seeing motion below her the reaper watched a fearful blonde walking down the empty streets, constantly scanning for threats. Something about the girl seemed odd but Red couldn't quite put her finger on it, only a nagging feeling at the back of her mind told her that it was important. Following high above her Red made sure the woman had left the area safely, the reaper then turned her attention to the others, who were in position and waiting for the ambush.<p>

Seeing they were ready Red closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she was surrounded in a black glow and the familiar half mask appeared on her face. She then let out a loud bellow that echoed across the quiet streets, sending animals scurrying to cover while her two companions got ready for a fight. The silence was maddening as they waited and waited but nothing happened, causing both Qrow and Penny to grow restless as they remembered what would happen if they failed.

"**Come on where are you?**" muttered the reaper as she approached the roof's edge, looking for a sign of their prey and only to growl in frustration.

"**YOU COWARD SHOW YOURSELF! THIS IS MY HOME! MY TERRITORY! YOU CALL YOURSELF A HUNTER BUT YOU ARE NOTHING BUT WEAK PREY! DON'T LIKE IT THEN COME AND PROVE ME WRONG!**" she bellowed before letting out another roar, much louder and fiercer then the first.

There was a brief moment of silence that was soon broken by an angry roar in response that brought a smile to the reaper's face as she saw something rapidly approaching her, "**I see you heard me.**"

"**It's co**ming," informed Red as her aura and mask disappeared, being replaced with a blood red glow as she readied Crescent Rose.

"Alright you two get ready we only have one shot at this," ordered Qrow as he and Penny moved to their respective hiding spots in the nearby garbage piles.

Red closed her eyes and fingered her scythe's trigger as she tried to calm her fraying nerves, taking comfort in its reassuring weight in her hands. Not ten seconds later she felt the roof she was standing on shake and opened her eyes to see the Feral towering before her. What made her take a step back was what seemed to almost be recognition in its eyes as it stared at her. No way could it really be the same one? Did it follow them through the tunnels? Was it her fault that all those people died?

'No stop you can't think that! Not now!' thought Red as she shook the questions from her head and forced a smug grin that rivalled even Roman's to spread across her face.

"Well hello ugly, fancy seeing you again. Did you not get enough of me back at Mount Glen?" she teased, causing it to growl as it approached her.

'Just a bit more,' she thought as it took another step towards her before stopping mid stride and beginning to sniff the air. It paused before turning from her to stare at Qrow's and Penny's hiding places, eyes widening Red realized their cover was blown.

"Penny plan B now!" she cried in a panicked voice.

Penny's hiding spot simply ceased to exist as a large green light fired out of it and headed straight towards the Feral. Their prey leapt into the air, dodging at the last second as the green laser passed below it and hit a nearby abandoned building, completely destroying the wall and melting through its support structures. Red didn't have time to admire Penny's handiwork as the three of them surrounded the Feral, blocking off its escape route.

"Aim for the joints and any of the less armoured areas, dust rounds just bounce off the bone plates," she warned them.

"I don't use dust rounds," reminded Penny as her swords began circling her.

"Be careful a cornered animal is twice as dangerous as normal," lectured Qrow.

The two of them nodded and Red felt a shiver run down her spine as she noticed that the Feral's gaze had never left her since they'd surrounded it. The Feral finally began examining the rest of the ambush team as if debating whether or not it could take them before coming to a decision. Quicker than any of them could react their prey suddenly ran towards Red, causing the reaper to disappear into rose petals as she dodged it on reflex. However instead of turning to fight them it just kept running through the now broken encirclement and into the streets below.

"Quick we have to go after it!" yelled Red only to be grabbed by Qrow.

"It's long gone Ruby, we've failed tonight," he informed her with a sigh.

"No it's not, I can track it and catch it. It can't outrun my semblance," cried Red as she struggled in his grip.

"Yes you could catch it but how would we catch up to you? I'm not risking you fighting that thing by yourself, don't worry Ruby we'll find it again," he replied and let go of her cape.

"So what now?" asked Penny.

Qrow just turned to look at them before heading to the exit, "we'll get some rest and then try the original plan in the morning."

* * *

><p>It was a long day for the trio as they walked down the streets of Vale, the oblivious citizens paying them no more the a passing interest, thanks to Red using aura to change her hair colour and having fake cat ears on her head to go with her cat like eyes. To the passersby she just looked like a Faunus that was enjoying shopping with her friends and their chaperon. After all it would raise quite a few questions and most likely panic if the people saw a suspected murderer walking around Vale. 'This is working great if I could just figure out how to get rid of the tattoos then this would be the perfect disguise to infiltrate the White Fang,' thought Red as she lead them down the streets.<p>

"Ruby are you sure about this? This area is nowhere near where the bodies were found," frowned Qrow.

"I'm telling you Uncle Qrow I'm getting an odd feeling from around he-" Red suddenly stopped mid stride and looked like she was about to vomit.

"Ruby what's wrong?" asked Qrow concerned.

"I can smell something coming from that building there that's making me feel uneasy, it's almost sickeningly sweet," explained Red as she tried to block her nose.

Qrow's eyes just widened and he froze before placing a hand on his scythe and turning to face them with a sombre expression, "the both of you stay here. I think it's better if neither of you see this."

"What are you talking about? If the Feral is in there then you'll need all the help you can get to fight it, going in there alone is a needless risk. Besides even if it isn't there I've got the best chance of finding clues to where it's gone," argued Red.

Qrow's sombre expression didn't change as he turned back to the building, "that may be true, but don't do it. This is too much for you to handle Ruby."

"I'm not weak!" shouted the reaper before she ran towards the building entrance.

"RUBY WAIT!" cried Qrow as both he and Penny chased after her.

Ignoring them Red opened the door and stepped into the dark room, her enhanced vision making it seem as if it was lit by a very dimly light. Following her sense of smell she headed towards the sickeningly sweet stench and was forced to navigate the twisting corridors until she came across large wooden double doors. Placing her ear against the doors Red breathed a sigh of relief as she couldn't hear anything coming from the room beyond.

Taking a deep breath and readying Crescent Rose she opened the door and was greeted to a room so dark not even her night vision could pierce it. Immediately Red had to stop herself from gagging at the stench that assaulted her nostrils as she walked in, her boots making a squelching noise as they hit the floor. Suddenly the reaper felt something splash into her face as she stepped on it, causing her to look down at her feet with a frown and freeze in horror.

Red just opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out as she stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, her back being covered by a sticky wet substance. The lights in the room suddenly came on as Qrow and Penny entered it, one with an expression of horror and the other with a blank mask on his face. With the lights now on the reaper quickly examined the large room and noted the various remains of people that was scattered everywhere like a dog's chew toy as well as the still wet blood soaked floor that she was lying in. Red vomited up the meager amount of food in her stomach as she started shivering and only stopped when Penny gave her a much needed hug.

"It looks like our target was a lot more productive then we were lead to believe, I recognize some of these bodies as people recently placed on the missing persons list. It's probably safe to assume that it was luring investigators away from its hide out with those other bodies that were 'miraculously discovered,'" Qrow mused before turning back to the vomiting Red.

"Didn't I warn you? I told you not to look," he scolded with a sigh.

"I…I just wanted to prove myself…prove that I'm not weak…prove that I'm worthy of _her_ name…damn it…damn it…why am I so weak?" sobbed the reaper.

"This isn't the time for pride Ruby," replied Qrow as he walked into the centre of the room. "There is nothing wrong with your reaction rather…I'd punch anyone who could see this and not bat an eye."

"What do you mean punch them? Aren't you standing there looking just fine?" cried Red as she looked at him with tearful eyes.

Qrow just took out his scythe, "that's because now isn't the time for emotion. We have company."

Red looked up at Qrow in time to see him dodge to the side as a large shadow crashed through the ceiling and landed where he had been standing moments before. Scrambling to her feet Red unsheathed her scythe while Penny's back opened up and an array of swords emerged from within her body. 'How did it get so close to us without my aura detecting it?!' thought the reaper as she chambered a round into Crescent Rose. Was she so distracted by the carnage around her that she failed to notice it approaching them? And if so did that mean that the Feral _knew_ they would find? Did it retain enough intelligence to prepare at trap like that? 'Apparently so,' thought the reaper as she remembered Qrow's theory of it fooling the investigators.

Shaking the realization from her mind Red took a step backwards in fear as it turned its baleful red eyes to her. As she was moving back Red's attention was drawn to the victims surrounding them and her gaze came to rest on a bloodied child's shoe in front of her. Judging from the size of it the owner couldn't have been older the 10, upon this realization any feelings of fear she held were replaced by a deep unnatural hatred for the beast in front of her. Focusing on the creature before her Red snarled as she was surrounded in a blood red aura and immediately opened fire with a hellish barrage of rounds. Unfortunately the Feral just dodged most of the dust rounds and the few that did hit merely bounced off its bone amour.

Growling in frustration the Feral's gaze intensified before it rushed towards the reaper in an unexpected burst of speed, only to stop midway as Qrow's scythe came in for a decapitating swing at one of the few armoured parts of its neck. Blocking the incoming attack with its bone gauntlets the Feral suddenly disappeared in a black smog as its black smoky aura surrounded it, causing both Qrow and Red to fall to the floor in coughing fits. Red felt something grow in her mind as she inhaled the smog and fell to the floor before being briefly surrounded by the black smoke. It was almost like her rage was spreading throughout her body and that's when she heard it, the soft little whisper at the back of her mind getting louder.

Taking advantage of Red and Qrow's stunned condition the creature attempted to bite out Qrow's jugular, only to be thrown back as a trio of swords sank into its harden bone armour and the wires attached to them grew taunt. Penny sent her opponent flying repeatedly into the walls and floor as she continued to pull on the sword's wires like a puppeteer controlling a puppet. Roaring in anger the Feral cut through Penny's metal wires as if they were string before surrounding the two combatants in its hazardous black smog, leaving only the creature's red glowing runes visibly to Red and Qrow. However unfortunately for the Feral, Penny wasn't effected by the smog as she didn't need to breath and had her thermal vision on, rendering its supposed advantage useless. Realizing it wasn't helping the Feral leapt backwards as its smoky outline faded and charged Red, who had yet to recover from her coughing fit as she collapsed on the ground.

Before it could reach her Qrow appeared between them and blocked the creature's charge with his scythe in a quarterstaff style, locking the two in a contest of strength as each tried to push the other back. Thankfully for Qrow the contest didn't last long as the creature leapt backwards in order to dodge Penny's drone like swords that then preceded to chase the Feral around the room.

"Mr. Qrow something's wrong with Ruby!" cried the ginger as she forced the Feral back.

"Penny can you keep it busy for a couple of minutes?" he asked, causing her to nod as he ran over to Red.

Her blood red aura had changed to its pure black form, the tattoos were glowing a harsh red and a mask had appeared over her face, however it was what Red was mumbling that caused him to worry.

"**It killed them…men…women…children…all of them dead…my fault…too weak...that monster…I hate it…I hate it…I hate it…I hate Ferals…kill it…kill it…I'll kill it!**" she muttered before Qrow slapped her, causing the mask to dissolve and her aura to return to normal.

"Ruby snap out of it! Rage won't help us here. We need team work to beat it not a berserker, understand?" he snapped as Red got up from the ground.

The reaper just nodded in response but didn't say anything as she stared at the Feral with barely restrained aggression, causing Qrow's worries to grow tenfold as the three of them surrounded it. Feinting a forward charge Red grinned and disappeared into rose petals as the Feral turned to face her, only to disappear in a large green beam of light from behind it. The building shook as Penny's laser punched through the wall and daylight streamed in through the new hole in the wall, the sounds of screams and sirens now rapidly approaching them, obviously drawn to the Penny's display.

"Good work Penny," congratulated Qrow as he walked over to the opening only to be grabbed by Red.

"It's not over yet," she informed him as the Feral appeared in front of them, the lower half of its left arm now a cauterized stump.

The creature just glared at them before letting loose a familiar sound that caused Red's blood to drain from her face as she recognized the call as the one she used back at Mountain Glen. "What's it doing?" asked Penny.

"Calling for help," replied Red with a frown as an entire pack of white Beowolves appeared from the hole that Penny had just made in the wall and in the ceiling.

"This isn't good in all my years as a Huntsman I've never seen Beowolves with that much bone plating. Be careful you two this bunch must be very old and experienced compared to the Beowolves you are used to," warned Qrow as they were surrounded by the Grimm.

Red wasn't listening however and only kept her hateful gaze on the Feral in front of her, watching as it began walking towards the hole. 'You're not getting away this time,' she thought and disappeared into rose petals, only to reappear in front of the creature as she blocked off its escape route. Growling in frustration the Feral tried to bite her but instead clamped its jaw around Crescent Rose as she brought the scythe up to block it.

Snarling at the beast in front of her she activated the scythe's electrical trap and smiled as Crescent Rose came alive with electricity. The Feral just howled in pain as its armour did little to protect it from the electricity now coursing through its body. Red was so focused on the creature writhing in front of her she failed to notice one of the Beowolves had circled behind the reaper and was caught completely by surprise as it leapt on top of her, its jaw clamping around the back of her neck. Panicking Red activated her semblance as she ran at the nearest wall at top speed before flipping in midair, causing the Beowolf to crash into the wall while she used its crushed body as a makeshift pillow.

Panting from exhaustion she just barely leapt to the side as her aura warned her of the incoming Feral that was barrelling towards her like a freight train. Unable to stop itself in time the Feral crashed through the wall into one of the adjacent rooms and they all heard a cry of rage echo from the other room. Reloading Crescent Rose the reaper slowly made her way back to Qrow and Penny, providing covering fire as she approached. With the Beowolves distracted by her, Qrow quickly charged his target before decapitating it with an expert swing of his scythe while Penny sent her swords in a rapid circle around the pair, forcing the Grimm to back off or be sliced to ribbons.

The reaper couldn't watch any longer however as she heard the Feral get up from behind her and stare at Red with an equally hateful glare. 'Looks like it's not a fan of electricity, well at least I know it won't run until it kills me,' she thought bitterly as she used her semblance to flank it. Swinging Crescent Rose in a downwards stroke Red's eyes widened as the scythe's blade sank an inch into its bone armour before it got stuck between the creature's interlocking plates. Realizing this the Feral ripped the weapon from Red's hand and slashed her across the chest and forced the reaper to her knees as the black outlined claws passed right through her aura and inflicted a deep cut.

Red watched as her enemy threw Crescent Rose into the other room it had just vacated, flinching as the scythe gave a loud clang as it hit the floor. 'Alright so aura is useless for protection however my bone plates will definitely work but if I use them then I won't be able to use my semblance or heal myself, is it worth the risk? It probably damaged my sweetheart just then so it looks like I have no choice,' sighed the reaper as a mask grew on her face. All the Beowolves froze and turned to look at her as she was surrounded in the same smoky black aura as the Feral and immediately began to back away towards the exits before the Feral snarled at them. The Grimm just looked between Red and the Feral before whining as they moved back to surround the trio again.

Briefly examining herself Red frowned as she noted the lack of bone plating covering her body, 'what's going on? I know it should work, it did at Mountain Glen and during the Breach.' The reaper didn't have long to ponder this problem as the Feral roared at her and Red instantly found herself on the receiving end of its razor sharp claws. Without either her bone armour or aura to protect her the claws dug deep into the reaper's shoulder but oddly enough she didn't even feel a sting as she brought her other arm up and slashed at the Feral's eye with her own talons. It just hissed in anger before kicking Red in her wounded chest and sending her skidding across the floor, Red groaned as she looked up to see the Feral standing over her.

"RUBY!" cried Penny as she sent another green laser at the Feral, only to see it dodge at the last second as the two of them rushed over to the incapacitated reaper.

"**I'm…fine**," lied Red as she began breathing raggedly.

"No you're not, if we don't get you medical attention then you'll bleed to death," replied Qrow as he eyed the Beowolves surrounding them.

"**We all know there's no chance of that happening now, not when we're surrounded by Grimm. Besides if I leave the Feral will just follow me, I think I made it mad**," argued Red with a grin.

"So what do we do now?" asked Penny as the Feral rejoined its pack.

"**Can you two take the Beowolves? I can deal with the Feral**," replied Red.

Penny shook her head as she stepped between Red and the Feral, "Ruby you're injured, out of all of us I have the best chance to beat it. My lasers can pierce-"

"Can you beat it?" interrupted Qrow.

Red just frowned as she got to her feet, "**I think so, I've got an idea I just need you both to buy me some time**."

"How long do you need?" replied the huntsman.

"**As long as you can give me**," answered the reaper as she closed her eyes and was wrapped in a sphere of black smoke that obscured everything but her glowing tattoos.

"Alright Penny can you slow down the Feral and buy us some time? Just keep it occupied for a bit. I'll do the same with the Grimm and keep them away from Ruby," he ordered the ginger.

"Mr. Qrow I have a question, the General told me to follow your orders to the letter so may I confirm something with you?" questioned the ginger as she approached her opponent, her swords hovering around her like guardians.

"What is it Penny?" answered the huntsman as he stood protectively between Red and the surrounding Grimm.

"I can buy time if that's all you want…but it's OK if I take it out myself, right? That way Ruby won't need to do it," she replied as she met the Feral's angry gaze with an unblinking stare of her own.

Despite the situation a small smile spread across his face, "you're a good friend Penny, Ruby is lucky to have you. Of course you can and don't hold back, I'll cover for you if you get in trouble later."

The green lines running along Penny's body began glowing as many small beams of a green light began forming around her, "understood, beginning class five combat subroutines. I am combat ready!"

* * *

><p>Red glanced around her and as expected found herself in the familiar snow covered forest that was her mindscape, "you know one of these days I should really try and figure out why the inside of my head looks like this," she mused as she examined the blood red aura around her.<p>

"But that takes the mystery out of it," called a female voice.

Red spun around to see the familiar red hooded figure glowing a vibrant red as it walked out of the tree line to meet her, "I was wondering if I'd see you again," greeted the reaper.

"Well the company here isn't all it's made out to be, besides I thought you might have got me some souvenirs," joked the figure.

"Maybe I would if you let me see you face," replied Red as she reached up to its hood.

The figure immediately backpedaled but was too late as Red simply activated her semblance and flanked the figure before yanking the hood down. At the sight of Ruby's fragmented face greeting her Red just gave a sigh, "I figured as much."

"You knew?" questioned her fragmented doppelganger.

"I suspected it after my fight with that shadow. Why was I able to use its power against it? Why did I know instinctively how to use Ruby's semblance without training? Where did the memory flashes come from? I wasn't originally Ruby or Laura so those flashes had to come from somewhere, right?" elaborated the reaper.

"But what I want to know is, are you really her or something else entirely?" questioned Red.

The counterpart merely shook her head, "I'm only leftovers of her, Red. The pieces that made up Ruby that weren't used in your birth."

"Then that means the shadow that I fought…" trailed off Red.

"Is the minuscule fragments of Laura, it's sad isn't it? At least I retained some of Ruby's personality but her…so much was taken to make you that she was left with only anger and pain and the few memories that not even _they_ could separate from her," confirmed her vibrant red doppelganger.

"The shadow talked about 'becoming whole,' what did it mean by that?" asked Red.

Red saw an ashamed expression cross her counterpart's fragmented face as she replied, "we're only fragments Red. Me, the shadow, none of us are truly a person, truly whole. Those memory fragments was each of us influencing your mind, forcing your dominant mind to accept our memories as its own, trying to be 'reborn' through you."

"Didn't you find it odd that when Ozpin asked you for your real name you instantly said Ruby's, or that Ruby's memories began mixing with Laura's? We messed with your mind because we were jealous," she continued as she looked down at the ground.

Red just hugged her doppelganger, "I don't care anymore, if anything you've done more for me then you realize. You've saved me heaps of times since then, in my books that's more than earned my forgiveness. Besides I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for those memories, I don't even want to think how things would have gone if I actually did get amnesia at the start."

A small tear trickled down the fragmented face, "you really are like Ruby aren't you? Too forgiving for your own good."

"Guess that makes two of us," grinned Red before she walked into the tree line with her vibrant red partner following close behind.

"Red I really don't think this is a good idea, how do you even know it will help you?" she argued.

"I don't…but I've just got this feeling that it will," shrugged the reaper.

"Alright Red if you say so, I'll be watching nearby if it tries anything," assured her friend before dissolving into rose petals.

Taking a deep breath Red walked up to the invisible prison and saw a familiar shadow form in front of her and give the reaper a sarcastic wave. "**Well if it isn't the little puppet, what brings you here Faker?" **greeted the masked shadow.

Red just frowned as she walked up to her imprisoned doppelganger, "you should know why I'm here."

The shadow just gave a grin that would make even the Cheshire cat ashamed, "**true but that begs the question; why should I help you Red? What does it matter to me if your friend and family die hmm? Or are you going to let me out in exchange?"**

The reaper's gaze hardened as she glared at it, "never! You'll stay in here to rot until the day I die, in fact if I could I'd kill you myself!"

Its grin only grew wider, "**ooh but you took most of my power and left me powerless, you would kill a defenceless opponent? My my, keep talking like that and I won't be able to tell which one of us is meant to be the monster."**

"Shut up!" snarled Red as she felt anger beginning to well up inside her and was surrounded by a black glow.

The shadow merely snorted in amusement as it stood at the edge of its invisible prison, "**you just don't get it do you? My power revolves around passion; anger, hate, lust, they are merely methods to increase my own power, the stronger the desire the more powerful it becomes. In order to get to this state you need to embrace my power but instead you're so terrified of it that you've locked it up tighter than even my prison."**

Examining the reaper's black aura outline it then gave a smirk, "**but even that's not enough. Your hatred for your own power, for Ferals, is so strong that it's leaking out of its cage, unable to contain your rising power. At the rate you're going you'll be consumed by it in a year or two, ironic isn't it? The very power you stole from me will be the thing that eventually kills us both."**

"What do you mean 'kills us both?'" replied Red fearfully.

The shadow just shrugged, "**exactly what I said, Earth aura is the text book definition of a double edged sword after all. You of all people should understand that at least…or have you already forgotten about the Mountain Glen and tower incident?"**

"What are you talking about?" she asked, cautiously.

"**You really don't understand anything do you? Did you really think it just gave you some shiny new bone armour and incredible strength?" **it laughed. "**Didn't you find it odd that even though you were nearly dead on your feet the minute you accepted me and my power the pain stopped? You focused entirely on killing your enemy, ignoring injuries that would have put anyone else into a damn coma. Even now you should be unconscious from blood loss and yet here you are still trying to fight."**

Seeing her confused expression the shadow gave a sigh, "**well I suppose it doesn't matter anymore since the Feral out there will kill us long before my power does."**

"No it won't, not if you help me. Using that power I can beat it," replied Red.

"**I told you puppet, you sealed it up tight. Only the very surface of it is accessible to you now and that won't be enough to beat it," **repeated her dark doppelganger.

"So tell me how to unseal it!" shouted the reaper.

"**That accomplishes nothing puppet, you lack the necessary prerequisites to even fight in the state that I was in. Firstly that seal requires you to accept that power entirely to come undone which as we can plainly see is very unlikely. Secondly the only emotion that you could use with it is your own hatred for that very power itself, which if you embrace it means that you'll completely let go of that empowering hatred in the first place,"** it listed in a bored tone that reminded Red of a parent lecturing a child.

"**In short you've made it so that unless the seal is removed my power will eventually consume us both but if the seal is removed that very power becomes useless," **concluded the shadow as it lay down on the ground.

"You wrong," announced Red quietly, causing it to sit up and look at her with a confused expression.

"You said that your power revolves around passion right?" she asked and the shadow nodded in response. "What stronger passion is there than the desire to protect something you care about? Hatred, anger, lust, none of them can compared to how hard we fight to protect what we care for. I'll ask again so please tell me, how do I access your power?"

It just got up from the ground and stared at Red in the eye before nodding in apparent satisfaction, "**hmm…that's an interesting idea and it might just work. Very well since I can't have you dying just yet I'll tell you, besides I don't like it when another begins encroaching on my territory."**

"Fine just tell me already," snapped Red impatiently.

The shadow walked up to the edge of its prison before sticking a clawed hand out to Red and gesturing for her to grasp it. Frowning the reaper hesitantly touched it and felt words beginning to burn into her mind, words that were both at once familiar and alien to her.

"**It's done, now puppet it's time to show that old arrogant whelp who the real king of this concrete jungle is, do put on a good show for me won't you?" **smirked the shadow.

Gasping she let go of the shadow's hand and fell to the ground as the pain in her head subsided, replaced by a new strength filling her body. Her task done Red just gave the shadow a grudgingly grateful nod before disappearing from her mindscape.

The shadow was about to head back into its prison when a voice stopped it, "why did you help her? Red might have believed your lies about defending your territory but I've been around you long enough to know better. What's your angle here?"

Spinning around with a frown it turned to see a familiar red hooded figure glowing a vibrant red and gave her a shrug, "**I don't know. Was it a whim or merely a last ditch attempt at survival? Maybe but you're right that doesn't sound like me. Who knows maybe you two have started to rub off on me? Now there's a scary thought. Or maybe I just wanted to test the Faker."**

"Test her?" muttered the figure in confusion.

The shadow place a hand on its mask and began tracing the cracks from its fight with Red, **"I'm curious to see which is the stronger passion, unbridled aggression or the desire to protect. You once said that there is a difference between controlling power and being controlled by it and perhaps you were right. I wanted to see which the Red Reaper will choose, to control her power or be consumed by it. To see what happens when she understands the power Ferals wield. Will she become the very thing she fights or will her desire let her conquer Feral's inborn instincts?"**

"**Now let's sit back and enjoy the show, shall we?" **it grinned eagerly.

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><p><strong>Well another chapter finished and let me say this one was a tough one to write, anyway hope you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter's fight scenes.<strong>


	42. The Regrets of the Red Qrow

**Ok sorry for the wait guys but this chapter was very difficult to write and I still am not entirely happy with it. Anyway as always I hope you enjoy it.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did I wouldn't have to keep putting annoying disclaimers up.**

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><p>"RUBY'S DOING WHAT!?" shouted Yang, deafening her two teammates as she glared at her father.<p>

Taiyang just sighed at his daughter's expected reaction, "she's hunting down this 'Feral' as we speak."

"BY HERSELF?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" she screamed at him.

"I know Yang but it was the only option we had left, this is the only way to prove her innocence. Don't worry she's not alone, both Qrow and one of your friends are helping her," he informed them with a frown.

"Who?" asked Weiss curiously.

"I believe the General called her Penny," replied Taiyang, causing all of their eyes to widen.

"YOU SENT HER OUT WITH PENNY!" cried the brawler as her eyes turned red and her hair began glowing.

"Yang she might be more of a dolt than even Jaune but you can't deny she's a good fighter. Remember when she fought the Paladin," reminded Weiss, only to shrink as the blonde's furious gaze rounded on her.

"Oh Weiss I need your help with something, come on let's give these two some space," bailed out Blake as the two teammates fled from the room.

Forcing her raging temper back to a low simmer Yang took a deep breath, "alright where is she now? I'll head over and help."

Her father just sighed as he prepared for Yang's next outburst, "I don't know."

"Let me get this straight, you sent Ruby out to fight a powerful monster and you don't even know where she is? AND YOU CALL YOURSELF HER FATHER!" she snarled.

"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TONE WITH ME YANG XIAO LONG! DO YOU REALLY THINK I LIKE THIS ANYMORE THAN YOU?!" he shouted, causing Yang's angry expression to vanish instantly. "I trust Qrow to know what he's doing and look after Ruby. To lower the risks of the Councils finding out about Ironwood's plan the only person they are in contact with is the General himself."

Sighing in disappointment Yang ran her fingers through her hair and collapsed into a nearby chair, "Yang what's happening to you? I know that you're concerned about Ruby but you've never snapped like this before," asked Taiyang.

"It's just…too many people are taking an interest in Ruby and I don't know if I can trust them. I mean I haven't even seen that portal user again since the Breach," replied Yang, only to freeze as she saw her father's face. "Umm…dad are you okay?"

"Yang this is very important, I need you to tell me everything you know about this portal user," ordered Taiyang as a frown crossed his face.

"Umm sure…during the train ride before the Breach I was facing one of Roman's goons…and losing badly. Right when she was about to finish me off a red and black figure wearing a Grimm mask stopped her and caused Neo to flee immediately," explained Yang with a frown as she pieced together her memories from that fight.

"Next she just slashed her red blade down and a red portal formed around her, I tried to stop her but she just told me 'I had bigger things to worry about.' She mentioned both Ruby and I by name, dad. She knew us both. Then the portal closed and that was the last I saw her, it doesn't make sense. If she was a member of the White Fang then we did she help me?" pondered the brawler as she looked up to the ceiling, unaware of the expression growing on her father's face.

"Yang…" he began only to be interrupted as the door opened and Weiss and Blake came rushing in.

"Yang quickly turn on the TV!" shouted Weiss.

"Why and what's with the popcorn?" questioned a confused Yang as the Schnee heiress approached the group with a bag full of the food.

"They're about to show the story on the 'Earth Conspiracy,' don't tell me you forgot!" cried the heiress as she raced over to their TV, while Blake sent an apologetic look to her partner.

"Woah easy there Ice Queen, it's just the news," replied Yang as she taken aback by her teammate's uncharacteristically energetic behavior.

"Just the news…just the news! It's the story of the century! An entire new world, possible cover ups by the councils, as well as fixed trials. Yang this could change our entire way of life! You're looking at history in the making! Why all of Vale and perhaps even Remnant will be watching this!" exclaimed Weiss eagerly as she took a seat.

"Assuming they even find anything to support Ruby's claim," reminded Blake, causing Weiss to scoff.

"Please if there is one thing the media is good at it's sniffing out a secret. God knows how many times the found out about top secret Schnee Company documents and dealings," replied the heiress with an angry snarl.

The rest of the room's occupants chose not to comment on her reaction and instead gathered around the TV as it turned on revealing Cyril as he smiled at the camera, "hello and thank you for joining us for a very special segment of Vale News Network, today we discuss the 'Earth Conspiracy.'"

They watched as Cyril prepared to speak further only to frown as he paused and placed a finger up to his ear before his eyes widened, "ladies and gentleman my apologizes but we'll have to postpone our story as we have just got breaking news!"

"There have been reports of the massive structural damaged, explosions, as well as the sound of gunfire and Grimm coming from the northern district. Lisa Lavender is on the scene as we speak. What's going on Lisa?" he asked and the screen switched to an image of a reporter standing outside a police barricade.

"Unfortunately Cyril we don't know what exactly is going on but General Ironwood's troops have arrived on scene and are in the process of evacuating the entire district. Sadly they are not letting anyone into the district and refuse to tell us the situation," replied Lisa while the members of RWBY just looked at each other in confusion and Taiyang had a worried look on his face.

"However currently we have aircraft above the site of the disturbance, we'll switch to their camera feed now," said the reporter and they all saw a nondescript five storey building that looked ready to collapse appear on screen.

Before any of them could comment they all saw the entire back wall of the fourth floor get disintegrated as numerous green beams passed through it and into another nearby building, destroying that wall also. The eye's on the three members of team RWBY widened considerably as they recognized the blast.

"Was…was that Penny?" stuttered Weiss.

"It…looked like it," replied Blake, equally shocked.

"Then that means that Ruby is there, come on let's go!" cried Yang as she dashed to the door, only to feel Taiyang's hand on her shoulder.

"There is nothing we can do Yang. By the time we get there it will already be over," he replied, causing team RWBY's shoulder's to slump.

"So what do we do then?" questioned Weiss as they all turned to him.

Taiyang just sighed as he gestured to the TV, "we watch and hope for the best. That's all we can do."

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><p>The entire building shook and the back wall of the room was destroyed by several green beams of light as the Feral dodged to the side with Penny following close behind. Not letting up from her assault the ginger chased after it, the floor cracking beneath her feet from the force of her robotic limbs hitting it. The Feral leapt through the opening in the ceiling and Penny followed by using her swords as a pulley system, only to find herself on the top floor in another darkened room that was lit up an eerie green by her body. Activating her thermal vision Penny began scanning the room and frowned as she couldn't spot the Feral's heat signature.<p>

The only warning the ginger got was the faint sound of shuffling above her as she turned upwards to see her target dropping down on her. Unable to dodge to the side in time Penny brought an arm up to block the claws coming at her head and a loud sound echoed across the empty room. The creature looked at Penny's arm as if surprised that it was still intact before Penny grinned and kicked it with enough force to shatter concrete.

"My apologies but my combat frame was designed to withstand impacts many times that strength, it is far too durable to break from something like that," informed the ginger as she formed a circle with her swords.

Throwing the swords like a Frisbee at her downed opponent Penny frowned as she saw it roll to the side and snarl at her before cautiously circling the ginger, obviously now considering her a threat. Calling her swords back Penny spared a worrying glance at the hole to the room below them as the sounds of fighting died down, fearing the worst. Qrow was a good huntsman but not even he could take on that many Beowolves at once and finish them that quickly, 'I don't have time to waste anymore. Extreme force is now authorized.'

Penny ran at the Feral, with her swords now glowing the same green as her body and following close behind her, poised to stab their target on command. Seeing this her opponent snarled and met her charge with one of its own, only to roar in frustration as the ginger leapt into the air. Once she was directly above it Penny sent her swords flying at the Feral, the blades piercing its bone plates and pinning it to the ground as they went through its body and sank into the floor. With her opponent now immobilized Penny's back opened up reveal an extra set of blades which she sent into the roof above the Feral, the swords easily sticking into the ceiling.

Using all her strength Penny began pulling on the wires, causing her servos to whine and the ceiling to crack as they both voiced their protests. Finally after giving one last groan in protest the roof above the Feral caved in, burying the creature in tons of concrete and brick as sunlight streamed in through the destroyed roof. Not taking any chances Penny charged up another laser and aimed it at the rubble, only to see the blast hit a black smoky substance and get stopped get deflected into the wall as the Feral emerged from within the rubble.

Penny's computerized brain went into mild shock as it tried to calculate what had happened, how the creature had survived, only to come up with inconclusive results. This systems crash only lasted a couple of seconds but it was more than enough for the Feral as it quickly approached Penny before grabbing her arm with its one remaining hand. The ginger was helpless as she watched her opponent begin to pull and instantly received numerous warning messages as her arm gave a metallic shriek and was separated from her body, leaving only sparks and wires protruding from her shoulder.

Throwing the arm away the Feral roared in satisfaction before slamming Penny to the floor as it gripped the other arm, ready to remove it to. Out of the corner of her eyes Penny saw three of the white Beowolves emerge from the opening to the room below them and instantly her heart sank as she thought of Qrow and Ruby. Sighing she closed her eyes and waited for the end as the Feral began to pull on her arm, only for the pressure to stop instantly as it let go with a cry of shock and anger. Opening her eyes Penny's brain nearly crashed again at the sight before it, one of the Beowolves had leapt onto the Feral's back and was in the process on trying to bite out its throat while the other two were circling it.

'What's going on?' she thought before hearing a familiar roar coming from behind her and turned to see another bone plated figure with a red cloak fluttering behind it.

* * *

><p>Qrow dodged to the side as one of the five remaining Beowolves leapt towards him with a snarl, only for its head to become separate from its body as he used his momentum to swing his scythe through its neck. Getting back to his feet the exhausted huntsman stood up again and place himself between his niece and the Grimm, the floor littered with the slowly dissolving corpses of Beowolves at his feet. His breathing became ragged as blood flowed out of the numerous wounds on his body and Qrow began swaying on his feet. As his vision began to go blurry he heard a soft whisper behind him and turned to see Ruby's black sphere of smoke expanding as her tattoos began growing brighter.<p>

"**My soul is twisted in madness,**

**And so I made a cage to contain it,**

**To mask the darkness hiding within,**

**But with this I break those chains,**

**I mark my enemies for death,**

**For the brighter the light,**

**The darker its shadow."**

The black sphere exploded outwards and knocked all the room's occupants to the floor as a low growl echoed across the destroyed chamber. Hearing something walk past him Qrow looked up and saw another Feral standing between him and the Beowolves, smaller than the other but looking much more streamlined. He was about to panic until he noticed the subtle hints of red and black clothing between the small gaps in its bone plate armour and a familiar red hooded cloak hanging off its back.

"…Ruby?" croaked Qrow as he tried and failed to get to his feet.

The red cloaked Feral just turned to glance at him before returning its gaze to the remaining four Beowolves and snarled at them as it stood protectively between him and the Grimm. The Beowolves began backing up in fear as she took a step forward and let loose another threatening growl before pointing at the room above them. There was a pause as the four Grimm looked at each other as if making a silent debate until one of them roared and charged her, only to be grabbed by the red cloaked Feral and literally torn in two by its bare hands.

The remaining three Beowolves upon seeing their pack mate brutally slaughtered in front of them, quickly bowed their heads to her as if they were bowing to their king. Walking up to them, Qrow watched with wide eyes as she placed a clawed hand on each of their heads before the markings on the Beowolves plates changed shape to the resemble the same runic tattoos she had. The only difference being the head plate where Qrow saw Ruby's ensign form and briefly glow the same shade of red as her tattoos.

As she once again pointing to the room above them where Penny and the target had disappeared to, the huntsman could only frown in confusion as he saw the Beowolves roar and leapt into the top floor. Now alone with only him left the red cloaked Feral turned its hate filled red glowing eyes to Qrow as it approached him. The huntsman felt a brief spike of fear as she stood in front of him and had to stop himself from reaching for his scythe, remembering who it was that stood in front of him.

"Ruby…snap out of it…I…know you're…still…in there," he choked out as she brought a clawed hand up to his throat, ready to crush his windpipe on demand.

There was nothing but silence as each stared at the other, neither willing to break eye contact as her grip on his throat tightened. Qrow looked into her red glowing eyes, searching for some sigh that his innocent cooking loving niece as black spots began appearing in his vision.

"…You're a person…not a…monster Ruby…you're my niece…my family…and I…know…you…won't hurt me," continued Qrow as he threw his scythe to the opposite end of the room and looked at her with a smile. "I…trust…you…after all…families…are meant…to protect each other…aren't they?"

The grip on his throat loosened as the snarl on her face changed to a confused frown and for the briefest of seconds the hatred in its eyes turned to a deep sorrow as she looked at him before letting go of his neck and walking towards the opening in the ceiling. Collapsing to the floor and gasping for breath Qrow watched as she gave him another sorrow filled look before leaping into the next floor, growling in frustration Qrow used his scythe as a crutch and forced himself to his feet.

"Ruby please share your burden with us, that kind of weight will break a person. I don't want you to be the red light, I don't want you to follow in my footsteps," he muttered and began looking for Crescent Rose.

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><p>Red tried to put the past couple of seconds into the back of her mind as she realized how close she had come to killing Qrow. Not only that but what had she done to those Beowolves? The entire time she'd been completely operating on instincts with no real idea of what she was doing and now she could almost feel them. Their animalistic hated filled minds radiating just beyond her's as she felt them attack the Feral. Leaping up Red felt another burst of anger at the sight of her friend Penny now one armed with sparks coming out of her shoulder's stump.<p>

Roaring in anger Red ran at the nearby Feral as it was confused and preoccupied with the Beowolves, crashing into it with a shoulder charge and sending them both slamming into the ground. Recovering quickly Red grabbed her opponent's remaining clawed hand with one of her own and used her other bone covered arm to block a bite to her throat. Flinching as the Feral's teeth sank into her arm but thanks to the plates stopping before they hit anything vital.

Red struggled to push her opponent back as it placed more and more pressure on her arm, panicking she felt noticed the Beowolves' minds seemed different…almost clearer to her as she felt them growing closer. Immediately the jaw locked around her arm opened as Red saw two of the Beowolves leapt onto the Feral's back while the other attacked its legs, attempting to topple the Feral over. Taking a step back Red's mind was in a whirl of activity as she tried to make sense of what was happening.

'Are the Grimm…helping me?' she thought confused before trying to test her theory. Watching the three Grimm jump off the Feral and surround it again Red reached out for the alien sensation of her…what? Allies? Partners? Pets? **No her** **pack**. Picturing images of Qrow and Penny she tried to send the…not so much words but feelings and memories, showing them fighting together as allies…**as pack mates.**

Red felt confusion emanating from the Grimms' hate filled mind, after all they were prey and how could prey be packmates? Deep in her animal mind Red instinctively knew that this questioning couldn't be allowed, **she was the Alpha! They did not question the Alpha! If she said they are pack mates then they are pack mates! If they disagreed she would show them why she is the Alpha! **The Beowolves briefly flinched before Red felt the closest thing to acknowledgment their animalistic thoughts were capable of echo from within their minds.

The three Beowolves spread out and parted ways for her as she approached their target, the Feral keeping its gaze fixed sorely on her as they both flared their black auras. Just like before the Grimm looked between the two and this time Red could feel their minds appraising the both of them, judging which of them deserved to be their Alpha. Unlike last time however the Beowolves took one look at the Feral's tired and wounded body and immediately growled at it as Red smiled smugly and gave the nearest one a pat on the head. They all surrounded the Feral which had now pressed its back up against the wall, preparing herself Red gave her pack a command that they knew all too well. **Kill**.

The three Beowolves howled before they charged at the Feral from all three directions, only for one to yelp in pain as it was kicked backwards and caused the other two to crash into each other unable to halt their momentum as the Feral rushed Red. Eyes widening in shock Red quickly dived to the side only for the Feral to anticipate that move and rake its claws across her armoured chest, the bone plating just barely stopping it from piercing anything vital. Struggling to her feet Red felt the wind behind her and quickly glanced back to see the large hole in the wall that Penny made earlier and briefly marveled at how high up they were.

Suddenly a loud roar snapped her attention back to the present and Red saw the Feral rushing at her, fully intending to kill them both as it crashed into her and sent them both over the edge. Red roared as she tumbled off the building, only to feel her cloak snag something and halt her descent. Looking up Red was greeted to the face of one of the Beowolves as it gripped the cloak in its jaw before pulling her up and back into the building. Hyperventilating Red forced her heart to calm down as she gave the Beowolf that saved her a hug, only to feel massive confusion from all three of the pack members, clearing not understanding the display before them.

"Ruby? Is that you?" questioned a worried voice while the Beowolves gave a low warning growl and Red turned to see Penny cautiously approaching her with her severed arm held close to her chest.

Red tried to speak but all that came out of her mouth was a series of grunts and snarls, eventually giving up she just settled on a nod. Heading back to the hole in the wall Red looked down at the Feral laying on ground and was amazed to see it still breathing. Deciding to end this once and for all Red headed down to her near dead opponent with her pack following close behind and just stared as she watched its half mask break and fall off its face.

Red had known what lay under that mask but even so seeing it for herself was a sobering experience, looking down at the male human face as his smoky black outline faded she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Realizing their wasn't any need for them any longer Red sent images of Emerald Forest to the Beowolves and ordered them to leave. The pack just looked at her before running off through the abandoned buildings, heading in the direction of Emerald Forest.

Watching as his bone armour began to crack Red sighed and deactivated her Earth aura, her bone plates dissolving and her smoky outline being replaced by a vibrant red. The reaper grimaced and was nearly knocked unconscious by the pain that suddenly erupted throughout her body as her aura began the long and slow healing process.

Hearing a noise behind her she saw Qrow and Penny walk out through the front entrance with Penny's arm and shoulder hidden by Qrow's cloak. Red was a bit confused about why Qrow had hidden Penny's injury until he simply pointed upwards and she saw the Bullhead circling above them with what looked like a camera hanging out the sides. 'How long has that been there for?' she thought in confusion that instantly was put to the back of her mind as they all heard coughing coming from their target.

"The whispers…they've stopped? Is it over? It was all a horrible nightmare right? I didn't really kill all those people did I?" choked out the former Feral as he looked up to Red with pleading eyes.

Red gave him a soft smile as she knelt before him and gave him a hug, "that's right it was just a horrible dream. But don't worry it's all over now, all you need to do is go back to sleep and everything will be back to normal."

"I see…but…I…don't know…how," he replied, his voice growing weaker by the second.

Red suddenly flared what was left of her aura and the two were surrounded by the vibrant red glow of Ruby's aura, "do you see the light? Just focus on it and it'll lead you back home."

"I…do…it's so bright…I feel…so…warm…so…free…maybe…this dream…wasn't so bad…after all…if…I get to…see this at…the end…so…beautiful…" he gasped before slumping in the reaper's grip.

Laying his body on the ground she watched as his weak breaths stopped before leaning down and closing his eyes. Picking up his broken half mask from the ground Red wrapped it in her cloak as she heard Qrow and Penny walk up behind her and felt Qrow place a reassuring hand on her shoulder before handing her Crescent Rose and leading her away from the gasping crowd of soldiers and police. Penny waved at them as she was quickly taken by some of the General's men and Red smiled as she did the same.

Once the two were alone Qrow spoke up, "what are you planning to do with that mask?"

Red looked at the bundle in hands and sighed tiredly, "I'm going to bury it. Give him a proper burial."

An approving smile crossed Qrow's face as he heard her response, "that's a very kind thing to do Ruby, especially after all the trouble you went through."

"He was a person was once Qrow, he deserves to be treated as such, besides…" the reaper trailed off as she felt the events of the past hours catch up to her, exhaustion and pain finally taking their toll.

"Besides…" prompted the huntsman as he turned and saw Red sway on her feet.

Before her body had even hit the ground Qrow grabbed her and sighed as he placed her on his back and carried her in a piggyback style, "well this certainly takes me back, how long has it been since I had to do this?" he smiled before walking away, heading to a familiar cliff face.

* * *

><p><em>Ruby just collapsed from exhaustion as she dropped Crescent Rose to the ground while Qrow frowned as he walked up to her, "well done Ruby. You're training is coming along brilliantly, but there is no need to exhaust yourself like that."<em>

_Turning away from Ruby her teacher collected Crescent Rose, "I think that's enough training for today," he informed her._

"_No! Not yet, I can still keep going," argued Ruby as she weakly sat up from the ground._

"_Oh really?" mused Qrow with a frown as he held her scythe above her. "In that case, stand up and take your weapon."_

_Ruby spent the next few minutes struggling to get off the ground and weakly swayed on her feet as she tried to grab her scythe from Qrow, only for her body to collapse back to the ground. Growling in frustration Ruby tried to move her body but the limbs felt like they were made from iron and refused to budge no matter how hard she tried to move them._

_Her teacher just sighed as he shifted Crescent Rose back into its compact portable form and stowed it in her holster, "I told you didn't I? Training yourself to exhaustion will only cause more harm than good in the long run."_

_Looking down at his student Qrow simply shook his head in amusement as he heard soft snoring coming from her collapsed form, "and what use are my lectures if you're never awake to hear them."_

_Scooping her up he gave her a piggyback as the two headed back into the city, as the sun began to set in the distance Qrow felt Ruby groan as she woke up. "Uncle Qrow? Why are you in my room?" she muttered sleepily._

_Qrow just chuckled as he came to a stop and Ruby realized what was going on, "Uncle Qrow I'm so so sorry. I'll try harder next time I swear!" she cried and tried to get off but couldn't find the energy to move._

"_Ruby do you know why the sun sets red? Of all the colours that make up a sunset, red travels the furthest. It rushes towards the world, stronger and faster than the others, pushing itself to become better, never noticing what it is leaving behind," he began in a sad tone as he turned them to face the setting sun._

"_Then when it arrives at its destination it looks around and sees that it's all alone, having left its companions behind long ago. It sees all the wonders of the world but has no one to share it with, how lonely must that be? Do you think it regrets its choice? Becoming so focused on moving forward, on getting stronger, that it isolates itself from others?" he sighed tiredly._

"_Err…umm…" muttered Ruby as she tried to think of something to say only to come up with nothing as a silence descended on the two._

"_Don't worry I don't expect you to understand Ruby, just think about what I said and maybe the answer will become clear. Anyway I'm sending you to Signal Academy once the next semester starts in a couple of weeks," he informed her._

"_That'll make it harder to train together, since we'll both have classes to attend. We'll have to stick to evening and weekend sparing sessions," she replied with a frown._

"_Actually I'm not going to be training you personally anymore," he elaborated. _

"_What! But why! I've learnt more from you then anyone at that combat school could teach me!" she exclaimed._

"_There is more to being a huntress than simply the ability to fight, otherwise we'd be nothing more than weapons pointed at the enemy. There are somethings that no one can teach you Ruby, things you have to experience for yourself and Signal is the best opportunity to do so. Go there and meet people your own age, if you spent even half as much time with people as you do with weapons you'd have no problem making friends," lectured Qrow._

"_Aww you sound just like dad!" pouted Ruby._

"_Ruby do you trust me?" he asked._

"_Of course I do!" she replied in a shocked tone._

_Qrow's grip on her tightened, "then please go to Signal, make friends, enjoy your youth while you've still got it. I'm afraid that if you keep walking down this path you'll soon find that you're the only one on it, I don't want that kind of lonely life for you."_

_There was silence as the two stared at the setting sun before Ruby sighed, "alright Uncle Qrow. I trust you, if you think I should go to Signal then I will."_

"_Thank you Ruby," smiled her teacher as he carried her back towards the city._

_As sleep began to claim her once again Ruby yawned and stared up at the sky, "Uncle Qrow? I never did ask, why did you want to become a Huntsman?"_

_Qrow gave a sad smile, "I wanted to be a hero. Someone who stood up for what was right and protected those who couldn't protect themselves. I wanted to save people whatever the cost."_

_Ruby gave another yawn, "wow…we really are alike."_

_Qrow heard soft snoring and twisted his body to see Ruby sleeping with a peaceful expression on her face, "that's what I'm afraid of," he muttered darkly._

Red snapped awake in time to see her vibrant red aura outline fade before she came to her senses and realized her position. Looking around she noted that Qrow was taking them through a snow covered forest and her eyes widened as she realized where he was going.

"Nice to see you up, how are you feeling Ruby?" greeted Qrow.

"Dead tired but I'm in one piece so I guess that's a plus," she replied with a weak chuckle.

"In that case just rest, we're nearly there," instructed the huntsman.

Red just nodded as they exited the snow covered forest and arrived at a familiar cliff face, the sunset causing the tombstone to cast an elongated shadow towards them. Admiring the view Red smiled, "red might be the loneliest colour…but is that really so bad?"

Qrow was silent and she continued as images of her teammates appeared in her mind, "in my experience the loneliest people are the kindest, the saddest people smile the brightest and the most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do."

"But it doesn't ensure your happiness Ruby. You deserve that at least, you're a human being not a weapon, not a tool and certainly not a mindless animal. Look at what's happened since you arrived at Beacon, you've made friends that would gladly jump into hell just to pull you out of it," argued the huntsman.

"You can't tell me you don't feel happy when you're around them and it's become clear to me that they feel the same around you. Can you say that you would ever give that up? Give up your friends and cast off your humanity?" questioned Qrow furiously and causing her eyes to widen.

"Can you really tell me not to? How do you know that will happen if I go down this path? No one knows where their path will take them, so what makes you so sure?" replied Red.

"Because I've gone down that path before Ruby. Did you know that when you first asked me to train you I was going to say no? In fact the only reason I agreed was because I thought you would quit after getting a taste of my training methods," he informed her, causing Red to stare at him in shock.

"You see I trained myself to exhaustion both day and night, outstripping all my peers, insolating myself to obtain that prowess. Even when I joined Beacon I distanced myself from my teammates, my own sister, to keep getting stronger. Then I lost my two teammates and I realized something; no matter how strong you become you can never save everyone," replied Qrow as he stared at the tombstone in front of them.

"Two people I considered my family just disappeared and yet when I think back I realize just how little time I spent with them, how little I knew about them. Time I should have spent with them I used up in a training room, all to obtain these skills that did nothing to save them, no could do nothing to save them. I look back at those mistakes I made and regret them to my very core, seeing Taiyang breaking down and yet unable to help, Yang nearly getting consumed by her need for closure," he continued sadly.

"Everything was going wrong and I couldn't do anything about it. Then you came along with a scarily familiar determined gaze, begging to be trained as a huntress. Seeing a chance to nip this in the bud before you made the same mistakes I did, I put you through the wringer, hoping, praying that you would give up. I should have known better you were a stubborn soul even back then and before I knew it I began to look forward to our sessions," he reminisced with an amused smile.

"By the time I'd realized what'd happened you'd already become stronger than most people years above you and yet had all the social skills of a wet towel with no friends to speak of. So I talked to Taiyang and we sent you to Signal, Ruby you're the only thing I can say I'm proud of so please don't walk down that path, don't make the same mistakes I did," he begged.

"You really do care about me, don't you?" asked Red after a brief moment of silence.

"You're my student and niece Ruby. I will do anything in my power to keep you safe, we all will. Me, your father, your sister, you're family to us and that means we look out for each other," he replied softly.

"The unbeatable combo," smirked Red while Qrow gave a soft laugh.

"I see Yang's rubbed off on you, well shall we get started?" he said, his amused tone shifting into a somber one.

Climbing off of Qrow's back Red shakily got to her feet before he gave her the mask and she walked over next to the grave. Placing the mask on the ground she buried it in the snow before placing a wooden homemade cross on the spot next to the tombstone.

"I never knew you, in fact I didn't even know your name. But I knew your pain and I know it wasn't your fault, even if no one else does, know that I forgive you. I swear to you here and now that I won't let myself be swayed from my purpose. I won't lose myself to that madness that claimed you," promised the reaper as she turned to the tombstone.

Reaching out to the tombstone she traced her hand over the inscription with a sad smile before turning to her companion, "you wanted to know why I buried him Qrow. The truth is that when I looked at him I saw myself, saw what I could have become if I gave in to my power. I guess I just don't want to consider him anything less than human because if I did that than what would that make me?"

Standing up from the grave she turned to face her companion with an expectant expression, obviously waiting on an answer. Qrow just frowned as he walked over to the grave to pay his respects and turned to face her, "it doesn't matter. You're Ruby, my niece as well as Taiyang's and Summer's daughter. No matter what happens that will never change, you'll always be Ruby to us."

Seeing Red's shocked expression he smiled, "I told you before Ruby, we're family. I hoped one day you would trust us again and I meant it. We've already accepted you, now it's up to you to do the same for us," finished Qrow as he gestured to the tombstone.

Looking down on the grave she nodded and took a deep breath, "it's been awhile since I last visited hasn't it? I think it's time I introduced myself properly. It's a pleasure to meet you Summer Rose, I've been called many thing in my life, the Red Reaper, Laura Doe, or simply Red, but you can call me Ruby Rose. I wish I could have met you for myself…goodbye…mom."

Walking back to Qrow she looked up at him with a childish smile before hugging the huntsman, "you know? I never really said it before but…thanks for sending me to Signal. You were right…just like you always are. I'm sorry for back at Ironwood's office and during the fight with the Feral, I do trust you and I'm glad you're my Uncle. I just wanted you to know that."

He just froze before a happy smile spread across his face as they left, "thank you Ruby."

Watching from high above them a white cloaked figure smiled as the oblivious duo headed back into Vale. Once they left it jumped down as it approached the wooden cross that Red had made and placed a white rose in front of it. The cloaked figure sent another glance in the direction the duo had left in before it walked over to the tombstone and as it passed Summer's grave, vanished without a trace.

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><p><strong>I'm really sorry about the fight scenes but I just couldn't get into the usual mind set I have for them, hopefully you all still enjoyed it. As for Qrow let me know what you guys thought of him, I just did my own take on what I thought he would be like since we knew very little about him.<strong>


	43. Newton's Third Law

**Hey guys here's a new chapter, the next chapter will take awhile to write since I'm not on break anymore and it'll be longer than the usual ones (I'm aiming for a minimum of 8000 words). So yeah sorry for that I put a sneak peek at what you can expect in the next chapter though so I'll leave you all to figure out what's going to happen. Who's knows you might get it exactly write...or maybe not.**

**I don't own RWBY otherwise I wouldn't have such a problem with editing.**

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><p>The atmosphere in the meeting room was grim as an oppressive silence descended on the council members as they stared at the news program with frowns on their faces. Once the program ended one of them switched off the large TV screen and turned to face his fellow councilors with a resigned sigh.<p>

"Well I believe the term used to describe this situation is an unmitigated disaster," he said before falling into his chair.

"They not only proved that Rose was innocent but that we aren't competent enough to defend our own citizens. To make matters worse she was clearly shown to be the one that hunted down this 'Feral' and kill it, to think Ironwood would go this far," sighed one of the Atlas councilmen.

"What do we do now? If we try anything against Rose, Ironwood or Ozpin, then our jobs are forfeit. Even now we are barely able to maintain our positions with half of Remnant calling for our removal from office," reminded another.

"We formally apologize to Rose and reward her for catching the Feral before coming clean on all we know about Earth to the media. Preferably before Rose come clean herself to the news programs, that's the only way we're keeping our jobs. The public needs to know that we aren't hiding anything else from them," informed the first one.

"So we just let them go! After what they did to us! How she insulted us! You can't be serious Shirou!" shouted one of the other councilors.

"Swallow your God damn pride Noire! It's what put us in this position in the first place! They've outmanoeuvred us at every corner, if we do anything to them it'll be our heads on the bloody chopping block next," growled Shirou.

"I see and what about the rest of my fellow councilors? Do you all agree with this worthless coward?" snarled Noire, only to see none of her kin meet her gaze other than Shirou.

"My fellow councilors I recommend we have our colleague from Atlas' council, Noire, temporary removed from office before she gets us into even more problems," stated Shirou as he turned to their silent observers.

"You wouldn't dare!" shouted Noire as she stood up from her chair only to have guards to rush into the room and restrain her.

"Get your hands off me!" she growled and pushed out of their grip before giving her fellow councilors a glare that would freeze hell over as she was escorted out of the room.

Once Noire was in her chamber she got out her scroll and dialed a familiar number, "no one insults the Councils and gets away with it Rose."

She smiled as her call was answered, "get me in touch with Aurum, I have a job he'll enjoy."

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><p>"Ruby not that we don't appreciate this but…why are we here? And more importantly why are you paying for everything? Where did you even get the money for this?" asked Yang as she gestured to the five star restaurant around them.<p>

The reaper flushed in embarrassment as she gave Qrow a quick glance before turning back to Yang, "I promised next time I saw someone I'd buy them the biggest dinner imaginable and I had the money to spare so I thought we could turn it into a family thing."

"That still doesn't explain where you got the money to pay for all this?" replied Taiyang with raised eyebrows.

Red just smiled, "well as a thank you and apology the Councils gave me a fairly large reward for killing that Feral. I've never even seen that many zeros before so feel free to order as much as you want, it's on the Council's expense."

"In that case…" grinned Yang as she picked up the menu. "Oh waiter, what is your most expensive meal?" she asked in a pompous voice.

"That would be the Crab ma'am," replied the personal waiter.

Red had to hold in the laughter as she joined in the fun, "oh how delightful, we'll take four of those and the most expensive wine for those two over there."

"Ah a wonderful choice ma'am, it should be ready shortly," he replied before walking off to the kitchens.

Once their waiter left the two sister's couldn't hold their sniggers back anymore and burst into laughter, "oh what a wonderful choice ma'am. Would you like to her the news on the stock market, I've heard the Jow Dones has gone down again," joked Yang.

"Indeed my dear sister, my private butlers tell me they can no longer afford to pay for their second mansions. What is this world coming to?" sighed Red in an equally pompous voice.

"I know it's pathetic isn't it? We are the 1%, we deserve better. How dare those plebeians complain about us, I mean because of those dolts I've gone from being a billionaire to merely a millionaire," stated Yang with a serious expression.

Red couldn't take it anymore and once again burst into laughter with Yang doing the same after attempting and failing to maintain her serious expression. Qrow and Taiyang just looked between the two with confused and yet amused expressions on their faces.

"You know I'm kind of worried at how well you two pull that off," commented Taiyang.

The two sister's merely smirked as Yang responded, "we've had a lot of practice. Weiss just provides us with way too much material for us to use, the best part is she doesn't even know she's doing it."

"Yang don't be mean, after all Weiss is the one who helped me pick this place," reminded Red.

"My point exactly," replied the blonde brawler, only to quieten as four steaming crabs were brought out before them.

Right before the blonde was about to dig in Red slapped her hand away with a grin, "my dear Yang, you're meant to use the outside cutlery first. Nor do we use our hands like those uncultured barbarians."

Yang blinked before she grinned, "of course how could I forget. It would be terribly improper to eat like this…"

As the brawler she grabbed her meal with her bare hands before pulling it apart, much to the disgust of the nearby tables. They quickly averted their gazes however as Yang turned to face them before giving them a wide food filled grin and a thumbs up.

Seeing them turning away Yang swallowed and loudly spoke up with her voice echoing across the restaurant, "why the harsh reception there's no need for you all to be so crabby. Eh eh?"

Her three family members just groaned at the pun before Taiyang turned to face her, "Yang please stop causing a scene before we are thrown out. I'd rather enjoy this meal then have to deal with bouncers and staff harassing us."

"You guys are no fun at all," pouted Yang as she placed her meal back on the plate before using her cutlery instead of hands to eat it.

Once they'd finished their meals Red cleared her throat as she stood up, drawing the attention of everyone at her table. Receiving an encouraging nod from Qrow she swallowed fearfully before bowing in front of them, causing Yang and Taiyang to give her a confused expression.

"I want to apologize for keeping what happened a secret from all of you. Even though I knew you were being kept in the dark I didn't trust you enough to tell you, I was scared of what would happen if you knew. That was a horrible mistake, you deserved to know about it, Ruby's your family after all. If you never want to see me again then I'll understand, I'll discard the name Ruby Rose and everything she owned. You won't see me ever again," she started while everyone stared at her with a neutral expression on their faces.

Qrow and Yang turned to Taiyang as he cleared his throat, "Ruby sit down," he ordered sternly.

Blinking in surprise Red sat down with a confused frown as her father continued, "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not angry about that, you're right you both should have told us everything."

His frown dropped as a smile spread across his face, "however no force, heaven or hell, could ever get me to cast you out of the family. You better start getting used to us Ruby Rose, you're here to stay."

The reaper felt tears of joy stream down her face as they all left the restaurant, much to the staff's relief, and headed back to Beacon. As they were driving the four of them were shocked as they heard one of the radio advertisements.

"…_remember to tune in to VNN tomorrow night for our exclusive interview with the current expert on Earth, Ruby Rose…"_

Red felt all the eyes come to rest on her and quickly shock her head, "don't look at me this is the first I've heard of this unless…oh that's what Weiss was talking about."

"Your teammate? What has she got to do with this?" questioned Qrow.

"Well since the Councils acknowledged the existence of Earth, I apparently became a celebrity and so Weiss offered to be my agent. She was telling me earlier about something she was planning but I wasn't really listening and just told her to go ahead with it," she replied, sheepishly.

"Just be careful Ruby, Taiyang needs to return to Patch and I've got to head back to Signal. We won't be able to protect you from now on," warned Qrow.

"Relax I'll keep her safe," assured Yang as she and Red gave a friendly fist bump.

"Besides it's just an interview, what's the worst that could happen?" scoffed Red.

* * *

><p>There was silence throughout the room as they all watched the recorded news footage, no one saying a word as they saw the two Feral's fighting each other. Leah just frowned as she saw it and took note of the abnormal level of intelligence that the smaller one was showing, usurping the Feral's own pack to use them against it. 'That's not normal, Feral's shouldn't be able to plot like that,' she thought as the recording was paused and their commander spoke up.<p>

"Doctor, do you have any idea what could have caused a Feral to retain that level of intelligence?" he asked the doctor standing next to her.

"Commander the only theories I can come up with are either; this is only an isolated incident caused by the VIP's unique condition…or Earth aura has another stage after Feral's, one far more dangerous than the others," answered the doctor as low murmuring began to echo across the room.

The commander nodded before silencing the whispers as he raised his hand and the recording began playing once again, causing Leah's eyes to widen as the fight came to an end and she saw the black aura outline get replaced by a vibrant red. She couldn't believe her eyes as she saw the Feral armour surrounding the VIP fade into nothing as Red came into view before checking to make sure her opponent was dead and walking off screen with her companions.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the doctor with an expectant expression as the commander once again spoke up, "care to explain this Doctor? After all, didn't your research say that it was impossible to control Ferals or even come back from that state in the first place? Yet we just saw someone who is capable of doing both of these and to make it worse, she's one of the only loose ends we have left in Vale."

Leah saw her companion straightened under the gaze of so many people before he sighed, "sir my tests didn't lie however remember that Remnant has been studying and using aura for centuries compared to the decades we've had. The only explanation I can think of is that they've got some method to keep it in check, perhaps using her Remnant aura in some way to protect her."

"So what you're saying is that Remnant now has an information source and a highly dangerous Feral at their command?" asked Leah fearfully.

"This is unacceptable! I was willing to have her captured alive but after this display it has become clear that she is far too dangerous a threat to let live. Her threat status is now Hyper-lethal! Signal our forces left in Vale, I want her dead! Do I make myself clear Captain?" growled the commander.

"Sir! Yes sir!" she replied with a salute.

"Good prepare a hit squad immediately, we only have a limited window of opportunity available to us," he ordered.

Leah frowned in confusion, "opportunity sir?"

The commander nodded, "we know exactly where she'll be tomorrow, it'll be extremely public but we have no choice."

"I'll inform my best troops," replied the captain as she headed out only to be halted by her superior's voice.

"Remember Captain, Dust only, no regular Earth explosives," he warned.

A cold smile spread across Leah's face, "understood sir, those White Fang really are a violent bunch of terrorists to attack a public place like that."

"My thoughts exactly Captain," replied the Commander with an equally cold smile as he took a sip from his usual coffee mug.

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><p>There were only three of them just standing in the blood stained room, the dead bodies of former White Fang grunts lying all around them in various states of dismemberment. One of the trio was a blonde spiky haired teen in an expensive suit with a face that would have caused most girls to swoon if not for the look of disgust on it. The boy looked around the room with a snort before walking over to his two companions, a grey haired Faunus girl who judging from the eyes, ears and tail looked to be of the feline subspecies in grey Samurai armour with spotted black patterns and a boy whose body occasionally gave off a soft red and black glow allowing others to see something wriggling beneath his skin.<p>

"The White Fang are getting bolder, this is the third outpost we destroyed in as many days," commented the Faunus.

"I know, it's great isn't it? I haven't been this well feed since we were dropped into that Grimm infested forest," came the cheerful reply from the boy next to her as he eyed the bodies on the ground.

"It matters not Pardus, the White Fang is just a group of weaklings thinking they can challenge the strong by banding together. The weak will always be weak no matter how many of them band together, they are not even worthy of breathing the same air as the strong, and keep your hunger in check until the job is done Barathrum," ordered the golden one as a ringing scroll appeared in his hand with a flash of golden light.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the boss Aurum," grumbled Barathrum as he gave his blonde companion a two fingered salute.

Ignoring him the golden armoured boy answered the scroll, "Aurum here the job's nearly done, so what did you want to talk about?"

"Once you finish up with that task report back to the usual meeting point, we have a new job for you," came Noire's voice from the scroll.

"Is that an order Councilor?" replied Aurum in a low voice.

"No, merely a request in case you wanted to get a real challenge, and of course you'll be well rewarded for your troubles," she answered.

"Not interested, I have had enough of culling the weak. The mere fact that I have to waste my time with them offends me," scoffed Aurum arrogantly.

"Believe me when I tell you this job will be unlike any you've all done before," she assured the now intrigued trio.

The three shared a glance before Pardus spoke up, "how so Councilor? Remember we have a very extensive history and experience to draw from."

"The target has abilities that aren't found anywhere else in Remnant and she can reach the equivalent of an S-class Grimm when pushed enough. She also has the support of both Ozpin and Ironwood, underestimating her will likely lead to your deaths," informed Noire.

Instantly an eager grin grew on the blonde boy's face, "now this sounds interesting. Very well Councilor, we'll take the job."

"So who's this idiot that managed to piss off the Councils?" asked Barathrum.

"She calls herself Red but her real name is Ruby Rose," replied Noire.

Aurum blinked before his grin grew even wider, "Rose? Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while, let's hope that she lives up to it."

"One more thing Aurum, if you can try to make it a quiet kill," requested the councilor.

"Very well, I'll send Barathrum after her. If she can't beat him then she wasn't worth my time anyway," sighed Aurum.

"Excellent, the details will be waiting for you all at the usual place," responded their client.

Suddenly the scroll in his hand shattered into pieces as a loud gunshot echoed across the silent room and the three companions all turned to see a small patrol of White Fang members level their shaky weapons at them. Pardus gave a low growl as her hands were covered in clawed gauntlets before the claws started rotating and a stream of dust rounds pelted the patrol.

"Isn't that considerate? They saved us the trouble of hunting them down," laughed Barathrum as his arm dissolved before reforming into a serrated whip like tentacle with red veins crisscrossing the surface.

The whip like limb extended and rapidly approached the grunts before slicing through the unfortunate Faunus, leaving only bisected corpses in its wake. Aurum just looked at his destroyed scroll before an expression of pure rage crossed his face as he was surrounded in a gold outline.

"You pathetic peasants dare to destroy my property! You will pay for that you lowly dogs!" he roared in anger.

The White Fang members looked on in shock as a large golden circle appeared in front of them before a number of projectiles ranging from dust rounds to spears to even elemental blasts rained down on them. The result from this barrage was a large explosion that caused the ceiling to cave in on itself and as the dust cleared the trio began to walk out of the outpost.

"Was that really necessary?" sighed Pardus tiredly.

"Those weaklings needed to learn their place," snarled Aurum as they all heard a soft groaning.

Looking back they saw a lone Faunus survivor crawling out from under the collapsed ceiling causing Aurum to frown before turning to Barathrum, "I'm not wasting anymore time here, I leave the rest to you. Just remember to clean up after yourself."

"You got it boss," replied Barathrum as his two companions walked away.

The injured White Fang member tried to crawl away as Barathrum approached her but only cried out in pain as he pushed her back to the ground and a predatory grin spread across his face, "itadakimasu!"

There was a loud scream that was abruptly cut off and the silent chamber was filled with loud sucking and chomping noises before an eerie silence remained. When the police arrived later they only found a destroyed outpost but despite the monumental amount of blood stains not a single body was found.

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><p><strong>Sneak peek at the next chapter- Angering the Dragon<strong>

The three members of RWBY surrounded the boy who merely gave them a smug smirk, seemingly unaffected by the level of hostility coming from them at his declaration.

"Oh please, you're saying that you killed Ruby? I doubt an idiot like yourself could pull that off," scoffed Weiss.

"Idiot?" chuckled the boy before exploding into insane laughter as they all saw his body get wrapped in tentacles, causing Yang to freeze as the boy's body began changing to a familiar figure.

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><p><strong>Ain't I a tease, hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. Anyway this chapter was shorter than the others since it was mainly a interlude chapter of sorts. I'm trying to make my chapters a minimum of 4000 words each now instead of the 3000 they used to be. Anyway hope this wasn't too boring for you.<strong>


	44. Angering the Dragon

**Hey guys it's been a while hasn't it? Man this chapter took forever to write. So I hope you guys enjoy it be warned though this is probably one of the darker chapters.**

**I don't own RWBY if I did then the final twist would be Ozpin *spoiler spoiler spoiler* Cinder *spoiler spoiler spoiler* How cool would that be?**

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><p>"Alright Ruby are you ready?" asked Port.<p>

Red just nodded before she activated her Earth aura and turned to face the cages as they opened to reveal the three white Beowolves that had her insignia glowing on their bone plating. Once again, Red felt their strange animalistic minds reaching out to hers as the Grimm slowly left their cage and stood in front of her. Smiling Red gave a thumbs up to Port and the rest of her spectators before walking over to the awaiting Beowolves and giving them a pat on the head as she fed them.

"Ok Ruby we're going to start the experiment, move the Grimm to the designated points when you're ready," ordered Ozpin.

Red nodded as she ordered the Beowolves to move to the different locations, causing them to hesitate, their minds filled with confusion. However after she gave them a low warning growl to remind them who the Alpha was, they quickly complied and followed her orders.

"Ok we're about to release the first Grimm, prepare yourself Ruby," warned Ozpin.

Instantly another cage opened to reveal an Ursa that roared as it charged out of its cage only to skid to a stop as it caught sight of Red's armoured form. The reaper just grinned as she pointed her finger at the Grimm and gave her Beowolves an order that made them look at her in confusion. **That is the prey. Kill it.**

The Beowolves glanced between her and the Ursa in confusion before Red snarled at them, causing the Beowolves to growl back at her. One of them leapt towards her with a snarl only to be sent flying into the wall as she kicked it in the stomach. **She was the Alpha and she would not be challenged by a weakling like that.**

Red approached the downed Beowolf and began a staring competition between the two of them until the Grimm finally broke eye contact and bowed its head in submission. The other two Beowolves looked between her and their downed comrade, as they seemed to weigh their chances before bowing down as well.

Seeing this Red turned back to the Ursa and repeated her order to the Beowolves and this time, she felt acknowledgement come from their minds as the three surrounded the Grimm. The Ursa seemed just looked between her and the Beowolves, as if it couldn't comprehend what was happening before it was attacked.

"Incredible they're actually obeying her commands," muttered Ironwood in shock. "Ruby can you give them more complex orders?

The reaper nodded as she began to direct the Beowolves into numerous attack patterns and strategies that allowed the three Grimm to easily outwit and outmanoeuvre their larger brethren. The battle ended quickly as the three Beowolves stood over their defeated opponent before dragging the corpse over to her.

"Interesting...the Beowolves seemed to be displaying the classic pack mentality, offering the Alpha the first bite," observed Port.

"Alright Ruby we're done for the day round them back up and get them back into their cages," ordered Ozpin.

Giving another thumbs up she herded them back into their cages and locked them in before deactivating her Earth aura and approaching her observers. "That was incredible Ruby in all our years of fighting Grimm not once have we managed to control them. Let alone seen them fighting amongst themselves, if we could just figure out how you did this it would provide a massive boon in our fight against the Grimm," exclaimed the general.

"I don't control them General. It's a relationship; it's based on mutual respect. They follow my orders because I'm their Alpha, if they try to challenge me then they will lose and they know it. That's why I had to remind them of that just then. If they consider me too weak to be their Alpha they'll turn on me in a heartbeat," corrected Red.

"I see…still this is too good an opportunity to pass up," he muttered before turning to Ozpin. "I'm heading back to the airship, please inform me when you begin the experiment again."

"Of course General," replied Ozpin before turning to face Ruby and Port with an amused smile. "Well shall we head off after all you have a TV show to appear on don't you Ruby."

"Ugh don't remind me. Actually if it's alright with you Ozpin I would like to stay here a bit longer," replied Red.

"That's fine just be mindful of the time and under no circumstances are you to open their cages," ordered the headmaster, getting a nod from Red.

Seeing this both Ozpin and Port left the room leaving Red alone to feed her Beowolves, however just as she finished feeding them the reaper heard the door open and turned to see one of the Haven students walking in.

"Oh hello, I wasn't aware there was anyone in here," she greeted Red as she approached the reaper.

Red just frowned, "what are you doing here? This place is supposed to be off limits to students."

"I was looking for my Headmaster, unfortunately it would seem I missed him. Still it's good to see you again, I never did get to thank you for helping me and my team when we got lost," replied the woman.

'She's obviously lying she would have seen the General leaving earlier, besides something about her makes alarm bells ring in my head. She's dangerous,' thought the reaper as she plastered a fake smile across her face.

"That's right, I was wondering why you looked so familiar. What was your name again? Ashes? Embers?" asked Red in a cheerful tone.

"Cinder," corrected the woman with a knowing smile as she turned to examine the caged Beowolves. "So the rumors were true you can tame Grimm after all, that's a powerful ability you've got there."

"Indeed it is, but don't worry the only ones that need to concerned are those who are my enemies. I will destroy anyone who gets in my way, of that you can be sure," replied Red, fixing her with a glare.

"True you are powerful but in my experience it's often not about overpowering an enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. After all even the mightiest of warriors can't stop you if they can't even lift up a sword," lectured Cinder, returning the stare with seemingly glowing eyes.

In response to this Red's body was surrounded in a blood red glow as her senses sharpened and her eyes became catlike. The atmosphere between them grew tense as neither of them backed down, even the Beowolves were becoming restless at the increase negativity. Finally, after what seemed like hours Red broke into an innocent grin that completely contrasted the hostile aura she was giving off.

"Thanks for the advice _sempai_ but I think you should go before Ozpin comes back, I don't think he'll appreciate you being here," she smirked as Cinder quickly glanced to the door before nodding in agreement.

"Very true, I shall take my leave then," replied Cinder as she headed for the door before turning back to give Red another chilling smile.

"Good luck with your interview, I hear it's going to be quite eventful," she said, as the door slid shut behind her.

Once again alone in the room, Red dropped her cheerful smile and frowned as she tried to piece together what had happened and most of all; why was that woman's scent so familiar. The familiar scent of ashes clung to this woman and for some reason sent her body into panic mode. Shaking the thoughts out of her head and making note to be careful around Cinder, she double checked the locks on the cages and made sure the security system was activated before heading off to her dorm. Weiss had told her to arrive early so she could get ready for her interview.

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><p>"Barathrum, what are you doing?" questioned Pardus with a frown.<p>

"Just looking at our target's history, it really is a sad story," replied the boy with an amused grin. "Her older sister apparently lost both her mothers and was forced to look after Rose, apparently they are very close. Our target only knew of one of their mothers and visits her grave regularly, the poor thing must really miss her."

Pardus curled her lips in distaste, "most people wouldn't have a smile on their face as they said that."

Barathrum's grin just widened, "yeah but we're not like not like most people are we Pardus?"

"Don't you dare lump me in with a psychopath like you," she snarled.

"Deny it all you want but you're just as sick and twisted as me, otherwise why would you be here? In fact out of the two of us I think I'm the better one, after all at least I'm honest about it unlike a certain Faunus I know."

Instantly Pardus' clawed gauntlets formed up around her hands as she gave a low growl while Barathrum's hands just morphed into clawed talons like a Nevermore's. The two glared at each other, each waiting to see who would make the first move and only stopped as they heard a familiar voice.

"If you two would stop being at each other's throats for five minutes then we might actually have a proper team. We're on the same side so stand down, both of you…or do I have to come and discipline you myself?" ordered an amused voice that carried an undertone of violence waiting to be unleashed.

"My apologies, Aurum. It's just that I can't stand his dishonorable methods for getting the job done or the sick games he plays with the victims," replied Pardus as her gauntlets shifted back to their standby mode.

"They're are necessary evils Pardus I thought you would have accepted that by now and Barathrum I've told you before, stop provoking Pardus," commented Aurum.

"Y-yeah right sorry boss," replied the boy, fearfully as he eyed the numerous gold glowing circles hovering behind Aurum.

"Good do not make me repeat myself once more," growled the blonde as the golden circles around him disappeared and his two companions released breaths they didn't know they were holding. "Now Barathrum have you made the proper preparations?"

"Yeah thanks to our contact in the Council I have everything I need; old photos, voice recordings, medical records. You name it I've got it," replied Barathrum in an oddly female voice.

Aurum nodded, "good now if I'm not mistaken you have an interview to attend."

The boy headed to the door and was about to open it when he heard his boss speak up again, "don't mess this up Barathrum. You can play with your target if you wish just make sure it doesn't jeopardize the mission, otherwise jail will be the last thing you'll need to worry about."

Barathrum swallowed fearfully before nodding frantically as he rushed from the room, slamming the door behind him. The rooms remaining two occupants were silent for a couple of minutes as Pardus quietly cleaned up her companion's workspace, noting the numerous pictures scattered across the desk.

"I really hate him," she spat.

"He has his uses although you should be rid of him soon," replied Aurum.

"You think he's going to fail?" questioned Pardus with a confused expression, say what you will about him, Barathrum was damn good at his job.

"If our target really is a Rose then I doubt someone like him could do much to her. Even if he does succeed her friends and family will definitely hunt him down," stated Aurum, coldly.

"Ah Aurum aren't you overestimating their chances here?" she replied, cautiously.

"Never underestimate a Rose, Pardus. I learnt that the hard way," he answered before heading back to his room, leaving a slightly confused Faunus to watch him go.

* * *

><p>Leah nodded as she observed all of Alpha team before handing them their files, carefully watching each of their reactions as they read it, looking for any form of disobedience in the making. Sure enough, there was none as each soldier read the report without a hint of disgust or aversion, they were black ops, and they were used to this kind of dirty work.<p>

Once they had finished reading she spoke up, "you will be deployed through the Atlas portal. We have booked you an emergency last minute flight to Vale under the cover of wealthy businessmen under the Schnee Company's employment."

"From there you will head to our last outpost left in Vale to receive your equipment and disguises. Remember if your caught pretend to be members of the White Fang. Also, be aware radio contact will likely be erratic without satellites to aid them, the whole building was designed to jam outside and inside signals to stop interferences with the broadcasts. Once the job is done head back to the outpost and await further assignments. Alright you all know your mission are there any questions," she asked.

One of them Alpha one, the most recent to be recruited she noted, raised his hand. "Captain, what do we do if our identity is compromised?" he asked, cautiously.

"If you're even half has competent as they say you are then that shouldn't happen but in that case the mission is to be called off. If Remnant found out about this we could be looking at some serious backlash, understood?" replied Leah.

"Understood ma'am," replied their leader.

"Good your flight leaves in a couple of hours so pack you things and head to the Atlas branch, troopers dismissed!" order the captain.

* * *

><p><strong>(Fairy Tail Sad theme piano slow)<strong>

"Ohhh you look adorable!" cooed Yang as the older sister once again played dress up with Red.

"Yang why can't I just wear what I usually do?" whined the reaper as she looked at the heels with disdain.

"I'm not letting my little sister appear on national television dressed in anything but the finest clothes. Besides what are you whining about you wear dresses all the time fighting," replied Yang sternly.

"It's not a dress, it's a combat skirt!" cried Red.

"Yeah, yeah, now hurry up and get changed I'll be watching in the crowds with Blake. Good luck sis, oh and Weiss," said the blonde turning to their white haired teammate. "Make sure she doesn't change back into her regular clothes."

Weiss nodded and Red sighed as her last backup plan was torn to pieces, there was no way the heiress would let up wear her anything but the most formal attire and everyone knew it. Groaning Red was about to take a quick nap before they both heard knocking coming from the dressing room door.

"Who is it?" asked Weiss as she approached the door.

"Miss Schnee? There has been a change of schedule and the organizers would like to see you immediately," informed a male voice.

"I'll be right there," replied the heiress before turning to face Red with a frown. "Don't even think about changing back into your normal clothes, I'll be back in a couple of minutes remember that!"

With her threat done Weiss gave the reaper another warning glare before closing the door and heading off. Red waited a couple of minutes to make sure Weiss was really gone before she ran over to her locker and was in the process of getting changed when the sound of knocking echoed from the door again. 'Damn she was quicker than even I expected,' groaned Red as she prepared for a violent tongue-lashing.

"Alright Weiss you caught me, I'm-" the reaper was immediately cut off as she turned around and saw a familiar white cloaked woman enter the room.

"M-mom!" choked out Red with tear-filled eyes.

"Hello honey how is my favourite little girl doing," greeted Summer Rose with a welcoming smile.

Red froze, unable to believe her eyes before a bright childish smile spread across her face as she ran over to Summer and crashed tackled her to the ground, embracing her mother as she cried into the cloak.

"I-I missed you so much. I thought you were dead, we all did," she sobbed while Summer just stroked her hair comfortingly.

"Come on sweetie, do you really think your super mom could be done in like that? I mean they never did find a body to put in the coffin after all," replied her mother with a warm smile.

"We all searched for you we really did but… Uncle Qrow told us to finally give up and move on. That it would have been what you wanted," cried Red.

"And he was right, you deserve to be happy Ruby. You shouldn't suffer for my sake," agreed Summer.

"Where were you all these years?" questioned the reaper as she finally climbed off her mother and the two headed over to changing area.

"It's a long story but that doesn't matter now, I'm here to stay this time and that's a promise Ruby," answered her mother as an amused grin appeared on her face. "You're not going on TV looking like that come on I'll fix your hair and makeup."

"Mom," whined the reaper as Summer dragged her over to the mirror and began running a brush through her hair.

"Hush, hush sweetie. To think my little girl is now all grown up and a celebrity as well, I'm so proud of you," cooed Summer happily.

Red flushed in embarrassment as she turned to look at the ground, causing her mother to giggle softly as she noticed this. "No matter how much you grow you still act just like a child sometimes."

"Anyone would be embarrassed when you say something like that," pouted the reaper.

"Why be embarrassed when it's the truth?" asked Summer with a happy expression.

The reaper just smiled happily, as she swung her legs childishly and looked back to her mother, "I can't wait to tell everyone you're back, they'll be so happy!"

"I'm sure they will," laughed her mother.

"Hey mom?" asked Red.

"What is it sweetie?" she replied.

"Thanks for coming back," answered Red as wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"What do you mean Ruby? It's a mother's job to look after their daughter, after all we're family and you know what that means," smiled Summer.

"We look out for each other," finished the reaper with a smile.

Summer nodded before embracing her in a hug and Red felt something at the back of her mind begin to grow wary, almost as if there was a predator nearby. However, the reaper was too caught up in the moment and just ignored it in favour of spending time with her mother.

"I truly do love you my baby girl, you know that right? But do you love me?" questioned Summer.

"Of course!" replied Red with no hesitation.

"Then can you do me a favour?" begged her mother as she spun the chair so that they were face to face.

Looking at her mother again the little feeling at the back of Red's mind began to grow louder and larger as she was forced to stare into her mother's eyes. "Um…sure mom what is it?" she replied, slightly concerned.

"Could you please die for me?" she replied with a cold smile.

Instantly Red felt a cold feeling coming from her gut, looking down showed her mother's hand piercing her stomach as blood began to pool around her. Summer just removed her blood-covered hand before pushing Red off the chair and onto the ground.

"M-mom…why?" choked out Red as she looked up at her mother and began coughing up blood.

"Oh sweetie the truth is I actually hate you. After all what happened that night was your fault, you are the reason I died. Now I'm just returning the favour," answered Summer as she stared down at her bleeding daughter.

Red just looked up at her with a pained expression as her vision began to grow blurry. "I…I'm sorry for disappointing you mum," she coughed out as the last of her energy left her body.

"Ruby? Are you ready we are about to go on in a couple of minutes. If you don't hurry up then I'm coming in there!" came Weiss' voice from outside.

'Summer' just looked up at the door with an annoyed expression, "yeah I'll be out in a second Ice Queen just hold on," she replied in Red's voice.

Turning back to Red she sighed, "guess I lost track of time and I was having so much fun too. Now I don't even have time to feast."

'Summer' then picked up the semi-conscious reaper and shoved her into one of the clothes lockers, "be a dear and stay in there until I can dispose of you, okay?"

As the locker door shut darkness filled Red's vision and she was only vaguely aware of two familiar voices talking outside before she heard the door shut and silence filled the room. Just as she was about to black out from blood loss Red felt the locker door open and a pair of arms gently cradle her limp body.

"Don't worry little one, I'll take care of you," said a female voice before a red circle appeared in her blurry vision as the reaper finally succumbed to the void of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Yang Xiao Long had my things unfortunately; a tendency to get lost was one of them, as both she and Blake were finding out the hard way. It wasn't her fault it was whoever designed this idiotic building's layout.<p>

"Yang just admit it you have no idea where we are," sighed her Faunus partner.

"Blakey, Blakey, it's the point. We're good and lost now," replied Yang with a grin.

Blake's eyes twitched as she stared at her teammate, "and how, pray tell, does this help us in any way?"

"Err…oh I know! You have to be lost to find things that cannot be found," answered the brawler.

"That's it I'm asking for directions," groaned Blake, clearly unimpressed by her teammate's response.

This proved to be easier said than done as continued for another ten minutes without seeing a single person, "umm…maybe it's just me but does something seem off to you?" questioned Yang.

"No you're right for an event as big as this there should be more than enough staff on hand and yet we haven't seen a soul since we got here," replied her partner.

Finally, after another couple of minutes they spotted someone that seemed to be working on something in the roof. They two of them breathed a sigh of relief as they approached the person and tapped him on the leg to get his attention.

"Yes what is it? Can't you see I'm ver-" the worker stopped his rant as he saw Yang as a look of both confusion and recognition appeared on his face. "Captain?"

The two huntresses froze, only members of one organization would call Yang that and they were supposed to be forced off Remnant. Without warning the brawler crashed tackle the man to the ground while Blake searched his bag and found a White Fang mask and uniform.

"Well, well, well, looks like we hit pay dirt didn't we Blakey? See this is why you need to get lost on occasion, you never know what you'll find," grinned Yang as she straddled the man.

"What were you doing with a White Fang uniform?" interrogated Blake, ignoring her teammate.

The man seemed to realize things had gone horribly wrong by this point and head-butted the brawler restraining him, causing her to let go from the shock of the blow rather than the pain itself. Freed the man bolted down the hallway while taking out a device from his jacket as ran with the two huntresses following close behind him.

"This is Alpha one I have been compromised, repeat I have been compromised! Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission, over!" he screamed into the device.

If he was expecting a reply the man was sorely disappointed as nothing but static came in response. "Our identity is confirmed do not detonate the package, Alpha group do you copy? Over!" he cried a note desperation now in his voice.

By this time the man and his two pursuers were nearing the fire escape when a voice came from the device in his hands, "Alpha one…peat…sig…jamming…detona…ackage? Over."

The man was about to respond when he was finally crashed tackled to the ground again and the device flew from his hand and skidded across the floor before ending up in darkness. The man began panicking as he struggled to break his blonde captor's grasp only to struggle needlessly as Blake helped restraining him. Between the two huntresses he was overpowered and quickly gave up realizing how futile the struggling was.

"You idiots, you have to give me that radio!" he snarled at them.

"Oh and why would we do that?" scoffed Yang as she tightened her grip on him.

"Because if you don't than people will die!" he shouted, causing them to frown.

"What do you mean?" growled Blake.

"We were told that our target would be here today for an interview, so our job was to take her out. If you don't let me get back on that radio then the bomb we prepared will go off," he explained in a hurry.

"Blake!" cried Yang as she turned to her teammate.

"On it!" replied the Faunus as she ran over to wear the radio had ended up. "Found it!"

"Give it to me now!" shouted the man.

Just as she was about to hand over the radio the sound of a male voice was heard, "…ackage is ready…lphas…advised…onation imminent."

"No!" cried the man as he grabbed the radio from Blake. "Abort the mission! DO NOT DETONATE THE PACKAGE!"

There was a pause as all three of them waited, hoping, praying for a response from the radio only to be met with harsh static. Then they heard the deafening sound of an explosion as the entire building shook from the force of the blow.

Yang felt her heart sink while Blake just frowned as she walked over to the man and snatched his radio from him, "you're under arrest of terrorism, murder, damage to public property and what else the courts can think up!" snarled the Faunus.

Before he could react Blake kicked the man in the head and knocked him unconscious before turning to her teammate, "come on Yang we need to get him to the proper authorities."

"She's not dead," whispered Yang.

"Yang…I don't know what to say," replied the Faunus.

"Don't worry this is just a dream, she's not really dead. Any minute now I'll wake up in my dorm with Ruby sleeping across from me," smiled a delusional Yang.

Blake just sighed in pity as she picked up their captive, "come on Yang, the sooner we hand this guy in the sooner we can find Weiss and Ruby."

They both headed outside as the first drops of rain began to fall and the emergency services arrived on the scene. Handing their captive over to the police officers they both began weaving through the evacuating crowds, search for their two missing teammates.

* * *

><p>"Ruby are you sure you're feeling okay?" questioned Weiss as she looked over to her oddly acting teammate.<p>

"Relax Ice Queen, I'm fine," replied Ruby with another odd smile, causing the heiress to frown.

Her teammate had been acting odd ever since she returned from that bogus organizer's meeting, Weiss had expected her to change into less formal gear while she was gone. Imagine her surprise when Ruby was not only still in her formal wear but had put makeup on as well, it was so out of character for her that she was partially stunned.

Not only that be when she had wanted to get some supplies from the locker her teammate protested harshly before all but pushing her out of the room and locking it behind them. This caught the heiress' attention as she knew immediately that Ruby was hiding something from her. 'I'll check it during the show, Ruby isn't the only one with a key after all,' she decided as they walked over to interview area.

"Remember Ruby millions of people are watching so be on your best behavior, understand?" reminded the white haired member of RWBY.

"Relax Weiss you worry too much, I'll be fine," replied Ruby with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Oh how I wish I could believe that," she scoffed in response as their interviewer approached them.

"Nice to finally meet you Miss Rose, my name is Cyril Lion I'll be working with you today. Let's put on a good show shall we? Remember nothing's too farfetched," he grinned as he held out a hand to the reaper.

'He is seriously asking Ruby to lie to the audience? Oh this is not going to go over well,' sighed Weiss as she prepared to run damage control for Ruby's expected outburst.

"Sure. If there's one thing I can guarantee it's that this interview will be quite the story," replied Ruby, much to Weiss' shock.

"Glad we agree Miss Rose, I'll certainly put you on for later interviews in that case," replied Cyril as he turned and walked on set.

"Ruby I don't think that's a good decision you just made. It will come back to haunt you in the long run," she warned her oddly acting teammate.

"Come on Weiss this 'Earth Conspiracy' is merely a phase it'll pass quickly, might as well get the most out of it while I can," argued her teammate.

"While that is true, I thought you didn't care about making money, only informing the public about the truth of Earth. It was one of your more admirable qualities that made me want to be your agent actually," frowned Weiss in disapproval.

"Oh that's rich coming from the heir to one of the largest Dust companies in world," laughed Ruby.

Weiss just froze before she glared at her teammate, "if that's how you feel then I think it would be best if I quit being your agent."

"Sure, it's not like I need you anyway," scoffed Ruby.

"Fine! Good luck with your new career Ruby!" snarled the heiress before walking off, not noticing the amused smirk that spread across her teammate's face.

"That insufferable little red…who does she think she is," growled Weiss and in her angered state completely forgot about checking the dressing room locker.

As she headed for the exit, the heiress felt the whole building shake as well as the smell of smoke beginning to fill the air. Running outside along with the mass of people, she looked up and saw the fires spreading from the studio floor and her blood drained from her already pale face. There was no way Ruby wasn't caught in that blast which could only mean one thing.

"Weiss is that you? Thank God you and Ruby got out of there," cried a relieved Blake as she and Yang walked over to her.

"I wasn't on the floor when the explosion happened but Ruby…" started the heiress only to see a knowing look appear on the Faunus' face while Yang's was still puzzled in confusion.

"Weiss where's Ruby? Why isn't she with you?" asked Yang with a slightly disturbing smile.

"Yang…I…I…" stumbled the heiress, trying to figure out the best thing to say.

Yang just cocked her head and shrugged, "never mind I'll go look for her myself. She's probably off somewhere sneaking cookies or scamming students."

"Yang! She's not there…" stated Weiss as tears began forming.

"So you do know where she is. Why didn't you just say so I the first place? So where is she?" asked Yang in a happy tone.

"Yang…I'm sorry…" choked out the heiress, as Blake just looked away, the pity clear in her eyes.

"For what? Come on Ice Queen tell me where Ruby is already…" replied a delusional Yang with a confused frown.

"She's…she's not coming back Yang. She's gone," cried Weiss unable to meet the brawler's gaze.

"I know she's gone that's why I'm trying to find her Weiss. So hurry up and tell me where she is," said the blonde, clearly in denial.

"Yang…Ruby is…she's…dead," informed the heiress, causing Yang's delusional smile to devolve into a desperate frown.

"Weiss there's a time and a place for jokes!" snarled the brawler.

"And now is neither Yang…I wish I was joking but…she was at the centre of the blast…nothing could have survived that…" finished Weiss as Blake placed a reassuring hand on Yang's shoulder.

"No you're lying! You…you have to be…" cried the blonde as she fell to her knees, soaking her clothes in the wet puddles forming from the rain.

"Yang I'm so so sorry," said Blake as she looked down on the collapsed brawler with pity and sadness.

"No…Ruby's not dead…she can't be…I promised to look after her…DAMN IT! WHY? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!" screamed Yang as she looked up at the stormy sky, as if the very world itself was weeping with her.

* * *

><p>Barathrum coughed as his broken and burnt body began regenerating itself and gave a low whistle of appreciation as he slowly sat up and examined the room. Nearly everything was on fire or smashed to pieces and smoke was rapidly filling the room, as he stood up he noted the numerous charred bodies surrounding him and sighed.<p>

"Some much food and it's all going to waste, still at least it gives me a chance to eat the target. After an explosion like that even my regeneration was hard pressed to save me, I'll need more food to recharge," he muttered as he left the room.

"Still who would have guessed Rose had made so many enemies, if I was anyone else that would have been the end of me for sure," groaned Barathrum as he approached the dressing room door.

Smiling as he found it still locked he opened it up and head over to the locker where he had left the Rose's body and his eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. Nothing, the body was gone! Did he open the wrong locker? No, there are still bloodstains in the locker itself so it had to be this one. _Don't mess this up Barathrum_.

"This is bad if Aurum finds out about this I'm in big trouble," he said, fearfully. "Okay think she couldn't have gotten out under her own power, not with a wound that devastating so that means that someone had to of found her."

However, he had locked the door and the only ones with a key to it was he…and the heiress! He did send her off fuming after his little joke, she might have come in to collect her stuff before leaving. Damn it how could he have been such an idiot! He needed to find her quickly!

Rushing out of the room, he headed for the emergency fire exit and quickly jumped down to the ground before heading over to mingle with the crowd, searching for the distinctive white hair of the Schnee heiress.

"Damn it where are you?" he growled, annoyed as his search was rapidly proving to be fruitless.

"DAMN IT! WHY? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!" screamed a female voice drawing his attention.

"Found you," he said a sadistic grin as he spotted the heiress along with her two teammates.

Changing himself to look like a police officer, he approached the trio and plaster a concerned smile on his face, "excuse me you wouldn't by any chance happen to be Huntresses would you?"

The heiress looked up at him while the black one continued to comfort the yellow one, "yes how can we help you officer?"

"We believe we might have found the terrorists responsible for the bombings, one of my men saw them fleeing the scene and gave chase. He asked for backup but we haven't heard from him since, most of my men are busy here keeping things under control. Would you be able to catch them for us?" he lied.

The heiress and her black haired teammate shared a glance only for the blonde to stand up from the ground and round on Barathrum with red eyes and glowing hair, "give us the address I'm going to make them pay dearly for this," she snarled.

"Of course ma'am and thank you," replied Barathrum as he directed them to a nearby abandoned building.

As the three huntresses rushed off a cold smile spread across his face, 'the reports were right they really do care for each other. This is going to be fun.' With that he walked into a nearby alley before transforming out of his current disguise and headed towards the same building in question, it was interrogation time.

Reaching the building ahead of the huntresses he sat and waited for the trio to arrive, planning how he would break each one. Suddenly he heard the sound of voices and footsteps rapidly approaching him and grinned in expectation, only to drop the smirk quickly as the team came into view visibly armed to the teeth.

'Where the hell did they get those weapons? They certainly weren't on them before,' he frowned as he stepped into view. Things may have just gotten a little bit more complicated.

* * *

><p>"Yang I don't think this is a good idea, we don't know how many are in there," said Blake as she reached into her rocket locker and pulled out Gambol Shroud.<p>

"I agree we should wait for backup," seconded Weiss as she strapped on Myrtenaster.

"They could be gone by then and I'm not going to let them escape after this, I'll go in alone if I have to," snapped the brawler as Ember Celica activated.

"Alright Yang fine but just remember to be careful alright?" sighed Weiss, getting a nod from her blonde teammate.

The trio then entered the building only to find no one there to greet them, "do you think they've left already?" asked Weiss.

"Possible, we might as well look around, if they had to leave in a hurry they might have left clues lying around the place," replied Blake.

Yang clearly didn't care as she just kicked down the door to the next room and strolled on through with her teammates rushing to catch up. The remnants of team RWBY found themselves in some sort of auditorium with exposed steel beams running across the ceiling and in the centre of the room was a teenaged boy slowly clapping.

"Oh no you've found me whatever shall I do?" he teased, getting a low growl from Yang in response.

"You're under arrest, now are you going to come along quietly or do we have to use force," threatened Weiss.

"Hmm…how about neither?" he said with a smirk, that rapidly changed into a dangerous grin. "Instead why don't you tell me where you hid Rose hmm? Schnee heiress?"

Weiss frowned, "what are you talking about Ruby is dead!"

"Oh I'm well aware of that, no one could survive the way I gutted her like a fish before shoving her into a locker. However you see my boss is a very scary guy and he would want confirmation of her death and for that I need to see the body. So would you kindly tell me where her body is and I'll promise you a quick death," he answered.

"What do you mean? Ruby was killed from a bomb, I haven't even seen her body yet," replied the heiress with a frown.

For the first time a look of surprise crossed his face before he sighed, "well it looks like I made another mistake. Unfortunately I still have to kill you now that you've seen me, my apologies for that."

"You said you gutted my sister. You better start explaining now or I'm going to take matters into my own hands," threatened Yang as she took a step forward.

The boy merely shrugged, "there's not much to explain. I killed her and now I can't find the body."

"Ruby was killed by an explosion," retorted Blake, causing the boy to laugh.

"Was she now?" he smirked before being covered in tendrils that obscured his whole body from view.

As the tendrils receded back into his body the trio were stunned at what had happened, standing the place of the boy was an exact replica of Ruby minus the scythe, "I'll admit that explosion was a good plan I just wish I hadn't been caught up in the crossfire," 'he' said in Ruby's voice.

"You were the one in the dressing room after I came back," realized Weiss with narrowed eyes.

"Wow Ice Queen you got it, I must say it was hard to catch her alone. I had to make some bogus report for you to follow just to get you out of the damn room," 'he' replied, happily.

Yang took a couple of steps forward, the floorboards cracking under her feet with every step, "before I beat you to death, mind telling me you name?"

"Sure it'll be the last name you three ever hear anyway, my name is Barathrum one of the Council's private assassins and the killer of Ruby Rose," he answered with a bow as he transformed back to normal.

The three members of RWBY surrounded the boy who merely gave them a smug smirk, seemingly unaffected by the level of hostility coming from them at his declaration.

"Oh please, you're saying that you killed Ruby? I doubt an idiot like yourself could pull that off," scoffed Weiss.

"Idiot?" chuckled the boy before exploding into insane laughter as they all saw his body get wrapped in tentacles, causing Yang to freeze as the boy's body began changing to a familiar figure.

"Tell me who the real idiot is here? Because I don't think it's me. I prefer to use that term for someone who falls for a cheap trick like this," he announced as the tentacles disappeared to reveal the form of a white cloaked woman.

Weiss and Blake were confused as they saw Yang's eyes widen and the brawler began trembling, bringing a smile to their opponents' face, "you should see your face! That's the same face Rose had when I killed her! The utter shock, the dumb confusion as I stabbed her in the gut, you could see every emotion she felt as her own mother killed her! It was great!"

Yang felt something within her snap at that last remark as an unfamiliar feeling began stirring and spreading throughout her body. It was not rage, to call what she was feeling rage would be like calling lava warm. The brawler's eyes narrowed as she glared her opponent, feeling her power reaching its max output as she was surrounded by a yellow glow.

It wasn't enough. She needed more power. More. More! Enough to make this bastard suffer for what he did! Make him pay for what he did to Ruby! _**You want power do you? That can be arranged…but are you sure you want it?**_

Yang flinched as she felt an almost dark presence entered her mind and caused a shiver to run down her spine. She reached out towards this presence, ignoring her instincts that were screaming at her to do otherwise and her vision became clouded by oily black shadows.

'Stop,' whispered something deep inside her, something she could barely hear over the pain and anger that threatened to consume her. 'Please stop, before it is too late,' it begged pleadingly only to be drowned out by whispers echoing in her mind.

_**He killed her. You broke your promise again.**_

_It wasn't her fault, she tried!_

_**You swore to protect her. You swore to Qrow, to Taiyang, to Ruby, you swore to Summer. You failed…just like you always do…**_

_Why? Why does it always end like this?_

_**Because you are weak. You're not even strong enough to avenge Ruby…you are a failure of an older sister!**_

_Please stop…_

_**That's right. You're a failure…that's why…**_

_Don't say it! Don't say it…please don't…_

_**That's why your mother left. That's why she abandoned you…but we can change that…**_

_Stop this! She was about walk down a path from which there is no return. She had to ignore them, she had to focus. _

_**Even the most brilliant of lights will become corrupted before they flicker and die…**_

_No she…she couldn't give in…couldn't let them win…_

_**We already have…**_

The white cloaked 'woman' burst into laughter, breaking Yang from her inner conflict, "and you know what the best part was? She really thought her dearly departed mother had come to see her. The joy she must have felt was truly heartwarming, hugging me, crying into my shoulder, begging for my forgiveness, all because Summer had returned from the dead just to see her."

Weiss and Blake were suddenly knocked off their feet and thrown against the wall as a massive shockwave blasted into them, the temperature in the room skyrocketing as a pillar of yellow and black flames erupted where Yang once stood.

"**That's enough! You manipulated Ruby's hopes and dreams, her fears and shame, you dared to taint our mother's memory!"** Yang's voice echoed across the room as the huge pillar began growing and following Yang, shrouding her body in the fire while leaving a trail of flames in her wake.

Yang's shouts turned into a low snarl as the temperature rose again and caused the roof's steel support beams to begin to melt under the brawler's flames, **"you were stupid to confess and even more stupid to boast and you had the audacity to do so in our mother's form! Everything you said only fuels the fire of your funeral pyre!"**

Everyone watched as the brawler's bright yellow aura became mixed with a pure black causing Weiss and Blake's eyes to widen in recognition. They watched as Yang's bestial snarl turned into a cold smile that promised nothing but pain and death, sending shivers down everyone's spines as she spoke in a cheerful tone, "**you just angered a sleeping dragon and now…you die."**

* * *

><p>The white cloak 'woman' laughed at Yang's display before speaking in a familiar feminine voice, "you wouldn't hurt own mother would you Yang? Now march yourself back up to your room this insta-"<p>

Only to be interrupted by a flaming hand grabbing 'her' throat while another reached into 'her' mouth and ripped out 'her' tongue. The 'woman' could only croak in pain as Yang's flames began burning the flesh off 'her' bones before the blonde repeatedly punched 'her' in the face as she threw her opponent into the wall, the body leaving an imprint in the wall as it fell to the ground.

"Y-Yang…what did you just do? You just killed someone!" stammered Weiss fearfully as the two teammates wiped sweat away from their brows and cautiously approached Yang.

Yang didn't respond and neither did she dispel her pillar of flames as she continued approaching the body of her fallen opponent, only taking note of her teammates after Weiss threw a stasis glyph under her feet. **"Don't interfere, this one is mine and mine alone!" **snarled the brawler, glaring at her friends with glowing red eyes.

"Yang you need to calm down! You've already won, we need to call medical assistance or he'll die!" shouted Blake, trying to reason with her enraged teammate only to pause as they all heard an odd sucking noise.

Turning back to the body both Weiss and Blake looked on in shock as they saw tendrils cover the white woman's body before reforming into the boy from before. Yang in contrast just grinned as she felt Weiss' glyph fade and walked towards him, the pillar now growing even larger and forcing her two teammates back off or be consumed by the raging flames.

"**That's some powerful regeneration you've got there, no it's not just merely aura's healing, that's something else. Your semblance maybe? It doesn't matter; this is good it means I can go all out. Now stand up you worthless piece of shit, you'll suffer the pain of a thousand deaths by the time I'm done with you monster!"** she snarled.

The boy just snarled as he jumped into the air, transformed his arm into a serrated whip, and sent it flying at the brawler, only to have Yang grab the whip as it approached. The boy screamed in pain as the fire surrounding Yang licked his whip-like appendage before rapidly spreading down the limb and setting his body on fire.

Yang smiled as the smell of charred flesh filled the room, **"it's surprising how easily the body catches alight isn't it? Don't worry I only burnt half your body, even with your regeneration I doubt you could survive complete immolation and I don't want you to die just yet. There is still so much pain that I have yet to put you through."**

The boy began panting as his flesh regenerated and his smug grin was replaced by a concerned frown as he eyed the brawler's flame coated body, his flesh literally crawling from the heat she was giving off. Growling in anger his fists enlarged and became extremely muscled before he slammed them into the floor, ripping a huge chunk off the metal floor up he used it as a shield and charged through the brawler's flame pillar.

Yang didn't even try to back up as he got in close and merely grinned eagerly as he slammed his makeshift shield into her before sending a flurry of blows into the brawler, resulting in Yang being sent flying through a nearby wall as the ceiling gave another groan and more of the steel support beams melted from Yang's flames.

He watched as the flaming brawler stepped out from the hole in the wall, causing Barathrum to back up as he heard her begin to laugh, her flames growing even hotter, **"it would seem that you don't know how my Semblance works. Well how unfortunate for you. I suppose I should thank you for the power up if nothing else."**

Suddenly she charged the boy and sent another flaming fist into his gut before grabbing him and slamming him on the ground repeatedly, the fire spreading throughout his body once again and causing him to scream in pain.

"**Aww does that hurt? I only burnt a quarter of your body that time. It seems your regeneration is slowing down Mr. Assassin. That's not good I still have games of my own to play," **taunted Yang.

Kicking her off him, Barathrum quickly jumped back before ripping up pieces of the metal floor and hurling them at her. Yang just let them hit as she smirked at her opponent before readying her gauntlets.

"**I'm curious…do you think that you can escape my flames by keeping your distance? Too bad for you but you can't!" **snarled Yang as she fired her red glowing rounds into him once again causing him to scream in pain once more as flames sprouted around his body.

Yang merely watched him burn as she prepared her next volley,** "it seems you weren't informed that I have incendiary ammunition, how unfortunate."**

Barathrum looked at her in fear before he turned and ran through one of the holes in the walls, desperate to escape the hell that he had brought down upon himself. Yang growled as she ran after him leaving both Weiss and Blake behind as the two of them struggled to get up from the ground.

Yang soon found herself in a dark hallway as she lost track of her prey, **"come out you coward you can't hide forever!"**

"Yang is that you? What are you doing here?" asked a familiar female voice.

Spinning around saw Ruby standing before her with an innocent smile on her face as she skipped over to her older sister. _**It's a trick. He is insulting her memory, he deserve death!**_ Yang's face became twisted with rage as she ran at the image of her younger sister before slamming her into the wall, instantly Ruby's form returned to that of the boy's.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You didn't even hesitate to kill your own family members!" he screamed in both fear and disbelief as she approached.

"**Ruby and Summer Rose are dead. That's a fact and you would use their image for your sick twisted games…you must be a glutton for PUNISHMENT!" **replied the brawler as she grabbed his head and set it alight.

"Ahh…my eyes oh God my eyes please stop, I beg you!" begged Barathrum as his entire head was engulfed in flames.

"**And they call me hot headed. Tell me what it is like having the fluid in your eyes boil; I'd imagine it might sting a little,"** she taunted her helpless victim.

"You damn bitch! Don't underestimate me!" he cried as he sent one final taloned hand at her gut only to see it get blocked by her free hand and sent alight also.

"**Now that wasn't very nice I think it's time to end this don't you,"** growled Yang as his body began slowly regenerating from the burns.

"Please don't! Don't do it! No, I surrender! Please I don't want to die!" he choked out fearfully as her flaming hand reached out to him.

"**I'm not giving you a choice, now burn in hell!" **she snarled only to see her entire hand become encased in ice.

Turning she saw Weiss and Blake cautiously approaching her, both with weapons drawn and ready in case the brawler tried anything. _**They are interfering. They're siding with him. They're traitors! Kill them!**_

"**What are you doing Weiss?" **asked the brawler in a deceptively calm tone.

"That's enough Yang he's surrendered, stand down now!" demanded the heiress.

"**Don't interfere you two!"** snarled Yang.

"Not happening we're meant to save lives Yang not take them, we cannot let you do this!" replied Blake as the both moved to surround her.

"**Get out of my way, NOW! That…thing deserves the worst death possible!"** raged the blonde as the whispers in her head grew louder.

"We're not moving Yang!" cried Weiss.

"**I won't ask again," **she warned them in a dangerously calm voice.

"And I told you to stand down!" shot back Weiss.

"**Fine then I'll burn you two along with him!"** threatened the blonde only to see her flames blocked by Weiss' ice shield.

"**Why don't you two just wake up! Huntresses kill all the time! If you heard even half the stories about my Uncle than you would despise Hunters!"** growled Yang, as she kept trying to get around her former teammates.

"There is a difference between killing for justice and killing to sate your own rage, while we may be forced to take a life as Huntresses…we should never do so out of anger," argued the heiress.

"Yang please this isn't you. I can tell you don't really want to do this so please stop…for all our sakes. You're about to cross a line that you'll regret until the day you die," begged Blake.

"**SHUT UP! I DO NOT CARE! I WANT TO KILL HIM WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS!" **screamed Yang in fury.

"Then why are you crying?" asked Weiss in a soft tone and causing Yang to freeze as she brought a hand up to her face and felt the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"If you truly don't care and want to kill him then why is your heart…your very soul screaming in protest? Killing him won't bring Ruby back, in fact if she could see you now then Ruby would be so ashamed… and deep down you know it, don't you Yang?" said the heiress as she lowered her rapier and fixed a pitying stare on the brawler.

"What kind of big sister would make her own younger sibling feel like that? If you truly care about Ruby then please Yang…let go this rage, if you don't I fear it will make a monster out of you and we both know Ruby wouldn't want that," begged Weiss as she stared pleadingly at Yang.

_**They are trying to mess with your mind. Remember your objective and avenge your sister! **_

_And what if they're right? What would mom say if she saw me right now? What would Ruby?_

Suddenly the image of Ruby's bright smile appeared in her mind as memories of the two playing together echoed throughout her head. In the wake of those happy memories all the rage flooded out of her body and the brawler collapsed to the ground as sadness filled the void.

"You're right…you both are…I…I just miss her so much…I want her back! Why...Why did she have to die?!...Why does everyone I care about always die?!" sobbed the blonde as her fist pounded the ground and the temperature returned to normal.

"Ruby…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I broke my promise…I couldn't protect you…I'm a failure as a big sister…I'M SORRY! So please I beg you…please come back," whispered Yang feebly as Blake once again embraced her in a comforting hug.

"It's okay Yang just let it all out," comforted the Faunus as memories of fallen comrades from her White Fang days appeared in her mind.

"Now what to do about you-he's gone!" cried the heiress as she turned behind to see the boy had gone missing.

"Let him go Weiss, well catch him later," replied Yang as she finally got up from the ground.

* * *

><p>Barathrum ran as fast as his legs could carry him, no way in hell was he staying anywhere near that monster in human form. He had made it out of the building and into the nearby alley before he stopped to catch his breath, already thinking up what he would tell Aurum.<p>

"Oh man he is gonna be so pissed…" grimaced the boy as he lent back on the wall. "Maybe I could just ditch 'em. Go Freelancer for a while or just lay low until everyone forgets about me."

"Or maybe you could just die right here?" replied a female voice.

Barathrum immediately spun around in shot as he saw masked female wearing a red and black dress and even more worrying, holding an unsheathed red sword in front of her. 'Damn it how did she catch me? I made sure the alley was empty when I stopped,' he thought as he stood up.

"And who might you be lady?" he asked, cautiously.

"Just someone who is a bit protective of those she cares for," replied the masked woman as she began walking towards him.

Instantly Barathrum backed up as he felt the same pressure emanating from this woman as he did from that monster that nearly killed him moments ago. He turned to run only to feel his leg be sliced clean off his body and fell to the ground as the woman placed her sword against his throat, tilting her head as she watched his leg slowly begin to regenerate.

"Yang really must quite the number on you didn't she Barathrum? For your regeneration to be that slow anyway. What's the matter did you forget your daily meals?" she teased before leaning towards him and staring at him with her red eyes. "You may have survived the Dragon but how well will you do against the Raven?"

"W-wait you're a Huntress right? I surrender I give up. Huntresses can't kill people, especially if they surrender right?" he said, fearfully as he held up his hands.

The masked woman seemed to consider his points before she removed the sword from his throat and backed up slightly. Barathrum grinned as he got to his feet only to cry out in pay as both his arms were cut off by the accursed red blade.

"You see there's two problems with your theory," stated the masked woman as he fell back to the ground. "One; a Huntsman's job is to kill monsters it never says specifically to kill Grimm and by my standards you are quite the monster."

The woman began to slowly walk towards him as Barathrum tried to get back to his feet only to fail due to his lack of arms, "and two; I'm not a Huntress!" she snarled.

Reaching down she picked him up by his throat and brought him up to her face, "you dare to hurt Ruby and Yang! You dare to insult Summer's memory! Enjoy being crushed at the bottom of the ocean you bastard."

With that, she slashed her sword onto the pavement below him and a red portal formed on the ground before the woman dropped Barathrum through the portal. He instantly felt a bone crushing pressure as water filled his lungs, it was over in a matter of seconds for the assassin and everything turned to black.

Raven sighed as she closed the portal before opening another one, "this really has been a tiring day."

* * *

><p>"Over 40 people dead and on live television. They have gone too far this time Oz! Something must be done!" growled Ironwood as the two headmasters looked over the casualty list.<p>

Ozpin didn't respond and just looked at one name in particular with sadness, the most innocent yet stubborn soul he had ever met. The one who had sacrificed some much in order to protect others and yet was failed to be protected in turn.

"Oz? Ozpin!" shouted the general, snapping the headmaster out of his thoughts.

Ironwood just gave him a sad look, "you still thinking about that? Oz you know it's not your fault, none of us could have expected they'd try something like this."

"We failed her James. We promised to keep her safe and we failed," replied Ozpin.

"Aye we did," nodded Ironwood before he fixed an unrelenting gaze on his friend. "However that was our mistake to begin with. We forgot the most basic of lessons for Huntsman, there is no such thing as safety."

The general got up from his chair and looked out the window, "every day we put our lives at risk whether we know it or not. You and I could be hit by an out of control truck tomorrow and we would be none the wiser."

"We've been locked up in our schools for so long that we've forgotten that simple fact, right now the only thing we can do is see that Ruby's death was not in vain," he concluded, turning back to Ozpin.

The headmaster of Beacon gave his friend a grateful smile, "you're right, thank you James. It's just hard to believe it's only been two days since the event, feels like a lifetime has passed."

"It always does Oz. It always does," replied the general in a sad tone.

"So what do you plan to do in response to this act of terrorism?" asked Ozpin, anxiously.

"Retaliate, we need to show them that there will be consequences to their actions," replied the general fiercely.

"Just be careful General, Remnant can't afford to be fighting both Earth and the Grimm," warned the headmaster.

"Don't worry Oz. All I'm going to do is send a message that we aren't pushovers. The best way to do so would be by capturing the portal sites scattered across Remnant, after all they are in our territory so we have every right to," reassured Ironwood.

"How will you find them? Last I checked we didn't know the location of the other sites," frowned Ozpin.

The general just grinned, "we don't but I have a feeling that the prisoner team RWBY caught might."

"Understood just be careful James we still have the White Fang to worry about," reminded Ozpin, causing Ironwood to nod before he packed up and left the room.

* * *

><p>Red groaned as she felt sunlight hit her eyes and rolled over, only to have her gut spike with pain, waking her up instantly. Ignoring the pain the reaper sat up and looked around to find herself in a house she'd never seen before, it looked like a classic log hut in the middle of a forest. The room itself was fairly Spartan with a bed, a desk and thankfully an old TV in far corner.<p>

"Where am I?" she wondered, aloud.

"Ah you're up…good," came a female voice from the open doorway.

Red turned as fast as her wounded gut would let her and nearly stopped in fright at the site that greeted her. It was a woman dressed in red and black but what drew the reaper's attention was the white mask that covered her entire face.

"You've been out for two whole days, you had me worried there for a while," she explained in a cheerful tone, which only caused Red's eyes to narrow in suspicion.

Noticing this the woman sighed, "relax I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah right, last time I checked the White Fang and I aren't the biggest fans of each other," scoffed the reaper.

"White Fang? Oh right the mask…forgive me I've had it for so long that I sometimes forget about it," apologized the woman as she reached up to her face.

Pulling off the mask Red gasped at the face that greeted her with a warm smile, "it's nice to finally meet you Ruby, or should I call you Red? My name is Raven Branwen…"

* * *

><p><strong>Well how did you guys like that? I decided to go out with a bang with this chapter. Unfortunately my creative spark for RWBY has been drained away but I still wanted to give you guys one last chapter before I went on hiatus. In the meantime I'll probably work on my other fic until I can recover my spark. Sorry guys but I didn't want to make anymore chapters without my spark, simply because the quality is terrible. One quick question what are your theories on Ozpin's semblance I might make him actually fight later on and I need suggestions due to the problem mentioned above. Anyway thanks to everyone who supported this story you guys have been great.<strong>


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